


Devil Fantasy XIII: Wishes Are Eternal

by Da_Awesom_One



Category: Devil May Cry, Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XIII Series
Genre: Action/Adventure, Cameos, Canon Relationships, Canonical Character Death, Character Death, Comedy, Crack Relationships, Crossover, Crossover Pairings, Crossover Universe, Deities, Demons, Easter Eggs, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Extended Universe, F/M, Friendship, Humor, Inappropriate Humor, Love/Hate, Machines, Major Character Undeath, Metal Gear References, Monsters, Multiple References, Ninja Gaiden References, Original Character Death(s), Rated M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-30
Updated: 2016-02-10
Packaged: 2018-04-01 22:24:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 90,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4036732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Da_Awesom_One/pseuds/Da_Awesom_One
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the Devil May Cry team is brought to Fortuna on a mission, Nero ends up in the world of Cocoon and meets new companions. Now they must escape a corrupt government, and their predetermined fate. But how will Nero react when he has to face his own demons, and an enemy from his past?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: The Fal'Cie

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: Capcom and Square-Enix own DMC and FFXIII respectively. All Ninja Gaiden references and characters are respectively owned by Koei Tecmo, and Team Ninja All Metal Gear references are LEGALLY owned Konami, but were CREATED by Hideo Kojima. This story was written for the enjoyment of reading and writing purposes only. No profit is being made out of this.
> 
> Revised on FF.NET: 3-30-15

 

* * *

**Prologue: The Fal'Cie**

* * *

Six figures walked into the chamber that housed the fal'Cie.

One of these people, a boy, spoke up with a shaky voice. "So this thing... Is the _fal'Cie?_ "

The boy was light-skinned, had platinum-colored hair, and bluish-green eyes. He wore a short-sleeve orange and yellow jacket that hid a black shirt under it, while a green detailed neckerchief covered his collar. Black gloves with white palms were on his hands, while a yellow wristband was on the left glove. He also wore deep green pants, and a black storage pack hanging from his belt. A pair of green shoes were on his feet.

"Yep. That's it, all right," said another man.

This man was middle aged and dark skinned. He wore an olive coat, which hid a white buttoned-down shirt underneath. He also wore beige khaki trousers, with two brown leather gun holsters with a gun in each one, and black buckled-engineer boots. His most noticeable feature was the large, black afro on his head. It housed a round, golden feathered baby chick.

The other boy looked in confusion. "So where's that fal'Cie, huh? I don't see it."

He had blue eyes, light skin, and platinum-colored hair, like the timid boy. He wore a long blue coat with red symbols on both shoulders. Under his coat was a red, sleeveless zip-up hoodie which hid a navy muscle shirt underneath. The lad also wore blue pants, with a brown leather pistol holder on the left, and a pair of brown boots. His left arm held a black band over his wrist, and a silver ring, with a rose design on its face, on his ring finger. His most noticeable, and somewhat shocking, feature was his right arm. It was somewhat disfigured and nearly draconic. His claws, palm, and forehand illuminated the room with its blue skin, with a large blue crack in the middle of his forearm. The rest of his arm was covered in red organic flesh, with a spike protruding from his elbow. Purple strap-like flesh covered the top part of his arm.

Another man stepped up to the being. He wore a black bandanna, which hid his light blond hair, a pair of dark grey pants, and was light skinned. A stubble beard was on his chin. His blue eyes looked at the being with defiance. He wore a long beige trench coat and a light blue vest under it. His black gloves squelched as they clasped, as he stepped forth with his large gray combat boots.

He called to the fal'Cie. "You got what you wanted! Serah's a _crystal,_ now. She _completed_ her Focus! Now _let her go!_ "

The group waited for the creature to respond, but they were only met with silence.

Suddenly, the man fell on his knees. " _Please!_ Turn her back! I- _I'll_ be your l'Cie, instead! Just _let her go!_ " he pleaded.

The blue coated boy groaned in annoyance. He knew that simply asking it was not getting them anywhere. "You guys _sure_ this thing isn't a statue? Because talking to it doesn't seem to be working."

Then, as if in response to his statement, one of them, a young woman, stepped forward. Her right hand reached for the black case strapped behind her. She wore a sleeveless, white overcoat, with a red cape attached behind her left shoulder, and a brown turtleneck-like shirt with a zipper. A green metallic pauldron with yellow stripes covered her left shoulder, while a long black sleeve covered her left arm. Two blue finger-less gloves, with golden bullet holders on the forehand, were on both of her hands. A pair of brown boots, with gray straps, was on her feet, while a red ammunition pack was strapped to her left thigh. She wore a brown mini-skirt over high-topped shorts. She had pale aqua eyes, clear skin, and rose-colored hair, her most noticeable feature.

She got out her weapon, a prototype gunblade. "Fine, you go on begging! Like this thing gives a _damn_ about what _we want!_ "

She charged at the fal'Cie, and struck her sword against it. Despite the ferocity and force of her swings, they seemed to have little effect on it.

" _Lightning!_ " The man called out as he got up.

Everyone turned their attention to the woman, Lightning, who was heavily breathing in frustration. "It's _this_ thing's fault that the Purge started, and its people who are dying. Serah told us to _save_ Cocoon, which means that _this thing needs to die!_ "

"That's the _first_ thing I've heard today that makes _sense,_ " said the older boy.

He wiped his nose with the thumb of his left hand, before reaching for the weapon strapped to his back, a customized Durandal sword. In moments, the fal'Cie responds to the group.

The other silver-haired boy panicked and ran away from the group. He was about to reach the exit, but was cut off by a magical field with an ominous symbol on it.

The boy fell on his rear, but was helped up by a girl with bright red hair that was tied into curled pigtails. Her green eyes looked at him in worry. She wore a light pink halter top and an orange-yellow skirt with a bear pelt around her waist. She wore a pair of beige boots, with fur around the opening socket. Around her neck were three beaded necklaces, which had various beaded extensions surrounding her attire.

"You're not fighting this alone, _Sis!_ " exclaimed the trench coated man.

"Don't call me _that!_ And don't get in my way, _Snow!_ " yelled Lightning.

"Come on, now. You really think you can kill a _fal'Cie?_ " reasoned the afro man

"Do what you want! I'm doing this for _Serah!_ " she exclaimed.

"You don't have to fight, _Sazh._ We can handle it," assured the older boy.

The man, Sazh, then had a solemn look on his face, as the reason he had bothered to come to this chamber raced through his mind.

"Dajh..." he whispered.

The baby chick on his afro suddenly popped out of his hair, and chirped encouragingly. Hearing it, his solemn look became one of determination.

"I'm in," he affirmed. "Hope you guys don't mind amateurs."

The man pulled out a pair of black pistols from the holsters on the sides of his trousers. "I've got these guns, so I might as well _use them._ "

The other man, Snow, smiled in appreciation, before raising his fists in a fighting stance.

Lightning only looked over her shoulder. "Thanks."

The boy watched the fal'Cie, as his sword leaned on his shoulders. "I know devils can cry. But can a fal'Cie even feel _anything?_ "

Grinning in anticipation, the boy then shoved his sword into the ground, before twisting the top part of his sword's handle. This caused a loud engine noise to erupt from the blade.

"Guess we're just gonna have to _find out!_ "

* * *

_Looking back, I realize that our fight with that thing was the day our fates were intertwined_ permanently _. We didn't even know it yet, but that was the first of_ many _battles we would take part in. It all started that day, when we were_ marked _, and became_ l'Cie.

_But even_ that _wasn't what connected us. No. It happened way later, on that starry night. That night, we made a promise to see everything to the end, and to make sure we made it_ together. _But the road to the end was not gonna be easy. We had to overcome monsters, weapons, and ultimately,_ ourselves.

_My name is Nero. I'm a descendant of the demon warrior Sparda, and a l'Cie. And_ this _is my story. The story of how_ the battle within began.

* * *

**Devil Fantasy XIII**

**-Wishes Are Eternal-**

* * *

  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to leave a comment, subscribe, and a kudos!


	2. Mission 1: Awakening

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Revised on FF.Net: 5-29-15

 

* * *

**Mission 1: Awakening - Devil May Cry**

* * *

**-Day 1-**

**-Earth-**

**-New York City - Devil May Cry-**

A door opened, which released the steam on the other side. Out of the room came a shirtless man, with a toned, muscled body, who was washing his platinum hair with a white towel. He wore black leather pants, with a detailed silver belt buckle fastened to keep it up. Black boots were hidden underneath the sleeves of the pants. The man's blue eyes glanced at the black shirt with straps on top of the chair at his desk. He grabbed it and put it on by closing the zipper, and connecting the three buckles on the straps.

Then, a sound was heard from his desk. Looking to the side, the man realized that the phone on it was ringing. Groaning, the man kicked the desk, which caused the receiver to be flung into the air. It soared above the man, but fell right into the palm of his hand.

Sighing, the man put the receiver up to his ear. " _'Devil May Cry'._ "

He listened to the person on the other end. "Oh, it's you, Morrison. What's up?"

A pause. "You're coming by today? What, you got another odd job for me and the kid?"

He said nothing. "Why do we need everyone together? Is this really _that_ big of a deal?"

The man smirked at his dialer's response. "In that case, why the suspense? What's so big that…"

He listened to his liaison's answer, and his grin instantly fell. "Alright then. You called Lady already?"

The man paused. "Good. Trish was already out when I woke up; probably went to go shopping. She should be here by the time you arrive."

He then chuckled. "Try stopping a she-devil from wasting your hard-earned money. _Then_ you'll understand why I don't stop her from increasing my debt."

Smiling, he bade farewell. "Alright. See you then."

The man then placed the receiver back on top of the phone, before sitting down and propping his legs on top of his desk.

He shook his head. "Today's gonna be _busy_."

Deciding to entertain himself before the meeting, the man looked at his copy of " _Two HandGun_ " magazine on his desk, and reached for it. He then opened it, and began to "read" the pictures.

**-Two hours later-**

The man had been looking at the magazine for a good while, and looked at the clock in the wall, and blinked. It was now 12 p.m.

"Time sure does fly when you're doin' nothing," he muttered as flipped through another page.

Suddenly, a loud snore interrupted him. Arching an eyebrow, the man peered over the top of the magazine in his hands. His eyes looked throughout the room for the source of the sound. After a few seconds, he found it; a large blue lump was asleep on top of the red leather couch in the receiving area of the shop. A hand was outstretched on top of the short circular table, with a bottle of beer in its clutches. Littered around the couch were more empty bottles of the same beverage.

The man sighed from his spot. "Went out drinking again, no doubt..."

Then, the front door of the shop opened, and a loud shrilly voice with it. " _HELLO? DANTE! ARE YOU HERE?_ "

"Oh boy..." The man, Dante, groaned, as he looked back at the magazine.

The voice belonged to a young girl, with blond hair tied into a small ponytail, and blue eyes. She wore a white long sleeve buttoned shirt underneath a black school vest, and a plaid skirt. Black leggings covered her legs, while black shoes were on her feet. She carried a brown book bag over her shoulder.

The girl smiled at the man, but faltered as she almost slipped on one of the bottles on the floor. When she regained her balance, she glared furiously at Dante.

" _DANTE!_ How many times have I told you to _clean this place up_?!" she chided. "I know you're a devil hunter, but if you _really_ wanted to get noticed, then you should make this place _spotless_ every once in a while! Maybe then, you wouldn't be in so much debt!"

The devil hunter hid his amused smirk behind the magazine. "Contrary to popular belief, Patty, that mess on the floor _ain't_ mine. The culprit's sleeping on the couch to your left."

The girl, Patty, frowned and looked to the side. Her features then softened, as she spotted the sleeping boy and the bottle in his hand.

"He went drinking _again?_ " she inquired worriedly.

"Unfortunately," Dante replied, as he flipped through another page.

Patty then walked over the scattered bottles, and then made her way to the devil hunter's desk. "Couldn't we do something to make him stop?"

"Well, if you had asked me that question three months ago, I would've told you to call the cops on him for underage drinking. I also would've told you to go find a loan shark, because getting him out of jail would've put me in _more_ debt," he answered. "But he's already twenty-one; old enough to drink."

"But, drinking like that is _still_ bad for him!" she protested.

Dante then stopped looking at his magazine, and looked right into the girl's eyes. "Look. I get that you're worried. But you gotta understand that the kid's stubborn. And considering all of the baggage he's got, getting the point through to him won't be easy. You just need give him time, is all."

The girl looked at him with concerned eyes, and then at the sleeping man.

Resigning to the man's advice, she nodded. "Alright, I guess..."

Slouching in his chair, Dante decided to change the subject. "Anyway, what're you doin' here? I thought little girls were supposed to be in school around this time?"

Patty instantly fumed at the remark, just as he had intended. "I'm not _little!_ I'm _sixteen,_ you jerk! And just so you know, we were let out early today! I got out thirty minutes ago."

The man rubbed his chin hairs. "Guess that explains the schoolgirl getup."

"Yeah. And we have next week off for Spring Break. So that means I get to hang out with you guys, just like back when I was sweet, cute little girl," she cheered.

"Really? I found you to be more of the bratty, _annoying_ type," he mocked. He tilted his head to the side to avoid the oncoming beer can.

"You're such an _idiot!_ " she raged. "And here I was thinking I would invite you to my seventeenth birthday!"

Dante arched an eyebrow. "Oh yeah. That's next weekend, right?"

She crossed her arms, and turned away from him. "Yeah. I was planning to hold it here for you guys, too! But since you want to be a total _snob_ , you can just _forget_ about going."

Dante scoffed. "So let me see if I got this right. You're sayin' that you're holding a birthday party in _my_ shop, without _my_ permission, and I'm not even _invited?_ "

"Exactly. That's your punishment for getting this place dirty again, and for being a _jerk,_ " she responded. "And plus, I beat you in that card game a month ago. The loser had to do _anything_ the winner wanted, so letting me have my birthday here is the thing I want you to do. After all, I beat you _fair_ and _square!_ "

"Don't remind me," the devil hunter hissed as he shook his head. "Look, Patty, I'm afraid that your party may have to be moved back a bit, depending on today's meeting."

The girl's eyes dipped in confusion. "Huh? What meeting?"

"Morrison gave me a call earlier today," he explained. "Said he had an important job he wanted to talk about. Apparently, he wants me, Trish, Lady, _and_ the kid to be here when he shows up. And if my track record is _any_ indication, that means he's got a big job for us. And big jobs usually take a few days to complete."

Patty's eyebrows shot past her bangs. "Then that means... You guys aren't going to be here all week?"

"Depends on the job that he gives us," he shrugged.

He then eyed the sleeping man. "Speaking of which, I think it's time for the kid to wake up."

Quickly, he then reached for the black, .45 semi-automatic pistol on the side of his desk. Its grip was wooden, while the magazine casing at the bottom was gold. On the side of the grip was a picture of a dark-haired Victorian woman. The trigger guard was a hooked, two handed on, and the ejection port for the bullets was on the top left side of the gun.

Its twin on the desk was almost similar, yet it was silver instead of black. The ejection port was on the right side, while the trigger guard was a rounded one. The picture on the gun was that of a fair-haired Victorian woman.

Embedded in gold on the black gun's right, and the silver gun's left were the words _"Ebony & Ivory,"_ while on the other side of each gun were the words _"For Tony Redgrave By .45 Art Warks."_

Dante twirled his gun, the Ebony, before aiming it right at the bottle in the sleeping man's hand. He then fired the gun, sending the bullet flying towards the bottle, where it shattered upon impact.

The noise of the gun and the shattering of the bottle instantly awoke the young man, and caused him to jump to his knees. However, he had lost his balance, and fell onto the floor.

The boy groaned in pain as he looked up at the man who fired his light-blue eyes. He had platinum-colored hair, just like the older devil hunter. However, he wore a long blue coat, with red insignias sewn on both shoulders. Under his coat was a red, sleeveless zip-up hoodie which hid a navy muscle shirt, blue pants, and brown boots. His left arm held a black band over his wrist, and a silver ring, with a rose design on its face, on his ring finger. His right arm, however, was covered entirely with black medical tape, with a red finger-less glove on his hand. The arm was held up by a white sling, making it seemingly immobile.

The look of surprise in the quickly faded into one of fury.

Pushing himself up from the ground, the boy pointed at Dante with his left hand. " _WHAT THE HELL, DANTE?! ARE TRYING TO KILL ME, YOU FUCKING BA-_ "

The boy stopped. Then, he gripped the side of his head, as it began to throb in pain.

" _Rrrr... Headache..._ " he breathed.

Dante only laughed at the boy's misfortune. "Ah, headaches. The sure signs of a hangover."

The boy gritted his teeth. "Shut up..."

"Oh, and while you're at it, watch your mouth. We've got a guest," the older man chided, as he gestured at Patty with his hand.

The girl waved at the man with her hand. "Hi, Nero."

The boy, Nero, nodded at her. "Hiya, Patty."

Dante sat back on his desk. "And just so you know, we're expecting _more_ guests soon, so try to get over your headache." He then looked at the girl. "Hey, Patty, do you mind getting Nero some water? We need to get him hydrated. An aspirin would be of some help, too. I think there's some in the kitchen."

Patty nodded at the man, and made her way into the kitchen, leaving the two demon hunters alone. Nero sat back down on the couch, while rubbing his left temple with his left hand. Dante only eyed the young lad.

"Long night?" he asked.

"Don't ask, old man," was Nero's exasperated reply.

The older hunter smirked. "Don't you mean, 'Don't ask, _Boss?_ '"

Nero scowled in response. Since he began working with Dante, he was required to address the man as "Boss," to be reminded that he was under the demon hunter's apprenticeship.

Dante then gave the lad a serious look. "Patty's starting to worry about you, y'know. She's noticing your drinking habits."

"Then tell her to mind her own business," he snapped back.

"She ain't the _only_ one, kid," Dante retorted. "But unlike her, _I'm_ more concerned about how you drinking three times a week affects your job performance. You're lucky you haven't gone on a mission without drowning yourself in booze, ever since you turned twenty-one three months ago. But when you're not drinking, you're _not sleeping._ And that's _just_ as bad."

Truthfully, Dante was worried about Nero as well, but did not show it in order to save face value He also knew that encouraging his behavior would only be detrimental to him in the long run.

"I don't like telling you about your drinking habits, considering what you've been through, as well as the fact that _I_ used to do the same thing back when I was younger," he continued.

Then, Dante gave the boy a serious glare as he leaned forward from his spot. "But don't think that I'm just gonna sit here while you drink freely in my shop. You're your own man, so what you do with your body and on your own time is _your_ business. But if I catch _one_ glimpse of you drinking on the job, kid, then I _won't_ hesitate to send your ass _packin_ ' _._ "

The declaration immediately got Nero's attention, and he turned to lock eyes with the man. Both demon hybrids glared at the other, to see who would relent first.

Dante's eyes narrowed dangerously. "And no amount of crying, whining, or _bitching_ is going to change that. You're either _sober_ , or you're _gone._ _Comprende?_ "

Nero's eyes angrily glared at the older man. Finally, he relented, and scoffed as he turned away. "Yeah, whatever."

Satisfied, Dante propped his legs on his desk, and slouched on his chair. "Good. Oh, and one more thing. If Patty asks you about it, try not to get fussy with her, yeah?"

Nero shrugged. "I'll keep that in mind."

At that moment, the door to the kitchen opened, and Patty came out with a glass cup of water in her right hand and two tablets of aspirin in her left hand. She offered them to Nero, and he accepted them gently.

As she watched him down the contents, she thought back to the confrontation she had overhead just a while ago. Patty had barely opened the door, when she heard Dante talk to Nero about his drinking habits. She was genuinely shocked when the older man had threatened the younger one. Patty wondered if he would actually do it.

Nero sighed, as he finished the water. "Thanks, Patty. I owe you one."

"Don't thank her yet, kid," Dante interjected. "You still got to clean up your mess around the couch. She's allowed to clean up after _me_ , not you."

The girl growled in anger. "See? _That's_ the kind of behavior that you banned from my birthday party!"

Nero cocked a curious eyebrow. "Oh yeah. That's next week, huh?"

"Mm-hm. I'm having it here in the shop, but Dante isn't invited. You are, though!" she assured.

"Sounds fun," he chuckled. "Imagine that: a day without Dante."

"It'll be _boring,_ " the man uttered from his desk.

Before either of the two could respond, the sound of a motorcycle engine was heard from outside.

Dante smirked. "Looks like our first guest is here. I suggest you get to cleanin', kid."

The boy groaned, before walking off into the kitchen.

A few seconds later, the front doors opened, and a woman entered. She had dark hair that went as long as her chin, with a fringe that stopped before her eyes, and fair skin with scars on her legs, and the bridge of her nose. Her eyes were covered by orange sunglasses. The women took them off as she entered, revealing them to be heterochromic. Each of her two irises was of a different color; her left eye was a reddish-brown, while her left was a bluish-green. She wore a white vest with black vertical lines, matching shorts, and red gloves in her hands. She wore nothing underneath her vest, which exposed her cleavage and a thin black necklace over her neck with a red gem on it. Brown leather packs surrounded her waist, as well as two brown leather straps over her left thigh. A pair of brown leather high heel boots that stopped right before her knees were on her legs. White laces fastened them securely.

The woman had a large, black missile launcher strapped around her shoulder. A bayonet was attached below the mouth of the launcher, while various cartridges with smaller missiles were next to the exhaust port on the back. The words " _Kalina Ann_ " were embedded on the handle.

The woman placed her glasses in her pocket while she looked around the room. "Huh. I guess I'm early."

Dante nodded, as he reached for his magazine. "Yep. Trish and Morrison should be here momentarily, so sit tight."

She nodded at him, and propped her missile launcher on the wall. Patty walked over to greet her.

"Hi, Lady. It's good to see you again," she greeted.

The older woman, Lady, smiled in return. "It's good to see you, too, Patty. How's everything?"

"Everything's fine! I just got out from school today, and have next week off. My birthday's coming up, and I'm having it here at the shop. You're invited, so you can come."

"Really?" Lady asked. "How'd you get Dante to let you use the shop?"

"Oh, I beat him in a card game a month ago," she snickered. "And don't worry, he's not invited."

The woman hunter smirked. "Yeah, that sounds pretty believable, considering his luck with cards."

"Remember that time I _beat you_ in a card game?" Dante reminded.

Lady instantly glared at him. "You cheated that time, and you _know_ it!"

The devil hunter feigned ignorance as he flipped the page. "I have no idea what you're talkin' about, _Lady._ "

The woman gritted her teeth, but then spotted an empty can of beer on the floor. She then saw that there were more bottles around the couch near the wall.

"Nero went drinking again, didn't he?" she groaned.

"Is it _that_ obvious?" Dante replied.

"You know, you should probably confront him about this," she suggested. "After all, what will you do if he ends up wasting both your booze _and_ the money you owe me?"

"If he knows what's good for him, he'll keep his claw _off_ of my drinks," he assured. "And don't worry, I already took care of it."

Sighing, she placed her hands on her hips. "So where is that kid, anyway? Did he get so drunk, that he got himself lost?"

"I heard that!" Nero snapped, as he walked out of the kitchen with a bag in his hand.

"And just so you know, Lady, I _actually_ clean up after myself. Unlike Boss, over there," he told, as he walked past her.

"Yeah. After I tell you to get off your lazy ass, right?" Dante quipped.

"I'm lazy?! _You're_ the lazy one around here, old man!" the boy shot back.

"'You're the lazy one around here, _Boss,_ '" he corrected.

"Rrrgh, _shut up!"_ Nero hissed, as he bent down to pick up the trash on the floor.

The older man laughed at himself, before giving the female hunter a serious look. "So, Lady, you got any ideas on what Morrison's job is about?"

She shrugged. "No clue... Although, he _did_ ask me to do him a favor."

"What?"

"Well, when I received the call, he asked me to get my boat prepared, because he said that there was a good chance we _might_ be using it for the job," she revealed.

"I see. If that's the case, then this job's probably out of state," he deduced.

"Frankly, I'm just glad he didn't ask for the money I owe him," she told.

"Hmph. Well, when I got the call, Morrison gave me the _Password_ before I could dig for any details."

Lady blinked in curiosity. "He gave you the _Password?_ "

"Yep. Which means that the person hiring us is _special._ Whatever this job is, it's gonna be _big._ "

"Define 'big,'" Nero insisted.

"Big, as in ' _Fortuna_ ' big."

Nero's features softened as he heard the name of his old homeland. It had been a long time since he had seen the place.

Patty twiddled her thumbs. "So, when was the last time you got this 'Password?'" she asked.

"Huh... I guess it was two years ago," Dante answered. "It was around the time those demon attacks hit New York."

"Oh, I remember!" the girl gasped. "Monsters were running wild in the city. My class and I had to be moved to Madison Square Garden just to hide from them."

"Yeah, I heard about that too," Nero added. "They say it wasn't just New York, though. I heard the problem originated in _Japan._ "

"Thankfully, the government got everything under control before we could fully get involved. We were just hired to evacuate civilians," Lady told. "Still, if things had gotten more serious, I'm _pretty sure_ we could have resolved it."

"Unfortunately, it wasn't our battle to fight," Dante shrugged. "In the end, the crisis was averted. That's all that matters. Still, I gotta admit that the job _was_ pretty second-rate."

Lady smiled her head in amusement. "True that. But at least _we_ weren't the ones responsible for getting _Lady Liberty_ stuck in the waters of New York Harbor!"

Nero had finally picked up his trash, and stood up from the ground. "I'm gonna throw this out," he informed, as he walked towards the front door. He opened it, but was startled to see someone else on the other side.

It was a woman, who had blonde hair tucked backwards and clear skin. Her right hand removed the pair of black sunglasses on her face to reveal crystal blue eyes looking back at him. She wore a black band over her neck and a black leather bustier over her torso. A lightning bolt design went through the middle, which revealed the zipper that tightened the bustier. On her left arm was a strapped leather brace on her forearm, while the nails on her hands were painted black. Black leather pants tightened around her hips, with a belt around her waist. There were black leather heel boots on her feet.

She gave the boy a sultry smile, and winked. "Hey, kiddo."

Nero nodded at her, before looking back inside. "Dante, Trish is here."

The woman, Trish, walked past the boy, while he dropped the bag of trash into the trash cans next to the steps. He then followed her inside.

"So, did you end up buying anything expensive?" Dante questioned.

Trish shook her head, as she sat down on the left side of Dante's desk. "Nah. Nothing really caught my eye today. By the time Morrison called me, I was on my way out."

"You should've called me, then," Lady frowned. "I haven't gone shopping in a while, and a trip to the department store might've been what _I_ needed."

"And put me in _more_ debt? Keep dreamin', Lady," said the devil hunter.

Trish then spotted the schoolgirl. "Hey, Patty. You excited for your week off?"

The girl nodded. "Yeah! I already have plans and everything."

"Good to know." She then looked at Nero, who sat down next to Patty on the couch. "How's the headache?"

Nero looked at her in surprise. "Wha- How'd you know?"

"You were sleeping when I went out. And the bottles and cans on the floor were another helpful hint," she explained.

The boy sighed. "Figures."

"So, did Morrison give you any hints as to what our job was?" Lady inquired.

The blonde hunter shook her head. "No. I was just about ready to head back, that I didn't even bother to ask."

While the three devil hunters continued talking, Patty looked at the young man. "How's your head?"

Nero gave her a small smile. "Better now, thanks to the aspirin."

The girl returned the smile, but shortly frowned right after. "So does that mean that guys will miss my birthday?"

The young devil hunter shrugged. "Beats me. That depends on how hard the job is."

"Oh..." she muttered

Noticing her sad expression, Nero patted her shoulder her shoulder. "Tell you what. Even if I _don't_ make it to your party, I'll be sure to get you your gift."

He felt relieved when the girl jumped with joy. " _Really?!_ You got me a _gift?_ "

The boy's smile faltered somewhat. "Uh... Yeah... No, not _yet_. I _do,_ however, promise get you something. But you're gonna have to wait to find out what it is. After all, it's a surprise."

Patty pouted, but gave in. "Oh, alright."

Just then, the door opened. Everyone in the room turned to face the man who had entered. He placed his brown coat and hat on the coat hanger near the wall. The man wore a white dress shirt underneath a purple vest, and black slacks. His hair was light brown and combed backwards, with his sideburns beginning to gray. A light brown mustache was right above his lips. His brown eyes softened in relief when he saw all of the hunters in the room.

"Good. You're all here," he greeted.

Patty smiled at the older man. "It's nice to see you again, Mr. Morrison."

The man, J.D. Morrison, returned the smile. "Ah, Ms. Lowell. I wasn't expecting _you_ here, today."

Patty waved her hand. "Oh, it's okay, Morrison. Just call me Patty, like always."

"'Bout time you showed up, Morrison. I was beginning to think that these girls came in for nothing," Dante greeted. "But since you're here, why don't we get this meeting underway?"

The older man looked at the devil hunter, and nodded. "Right. Let's get down to business." He then looked at Nero, who was on the couch. "Why don't you join us, Nero? This affects _you,_ too."

The boy glanced curiously at the man, before getting up from his spot, and making his way to the desk.

"Spill it, then. What's the job?" Lady inquired.

Morrison crossed his arms, with a look of apprehension on his face. "Before we decide on _anything,_ I need to ask all of you all to listen to this warning _before_ any of us decide to go through with this."

Trish arched an eyebrow. "A warning for us? Interesting."

The old man's eyes narrowed as he looked at all four devil hunters. "I'm telling all of you this now: although this _is_ a job, you have a _choice_ as to whether or not you want to take it. Considering who's hiring us and what they represent, I can understand why you guys would choose _not_ to do it. But knowing all of you, you'll disregard my warning completely, _especially_ once you know what the job is about. But like I said before, you have a _choice._ "

Nero frowned warily. "Emotional, much? You're talking as if some big shot from the _government's_ hiring us, Morrison."

Morrison gave a knowing smile. "They _are..._ The _CIA,_ specifically."

Nero narrowed his eyes in surprise from the man's statement. Glancing to the right, he caught the calm expressions of the three veteran devil hunters.

"Forget it," Dante interjected. " _Last_ time the CIA hired us, they gave us the second-rate job of cleaning up the _leftovers,_ while their golden boy _Super Ninja_ got the fun part. And the pay wasn't even _good._ "

Morrison sighed deeply. "You may not think so after you hear what I have to say. That being said, let me tell you what this is all about."

He then reached for his bag and pulled out a beige folder, with a noticeable stack of paperwork. He then placed it on Dante's desk, where the devil hunter took it, and opened it.

"About six days ago, NYPD reported that somebody had hijacked a fishing boat on the harbor. The boat was owned by two brothers who make a living as commercial fisherman. They caught the culprit in the act, but he was able to overpower both of them, easily. He ended up taking one of them hostage and went out into the ocean."

Dante finished looking over the file, and handed it over to Trish, who sat on the side of his desk. Lady was a few feet away, so she looked at the file with Trish. Nero stood there, crossing his arms as he listened.

"The man reported his brother's kidnapping to the police, and in response, the police department sent a boat out as far as international waters. Unfortunately, they found nothing. Two days later, however, the hostage came back with the boat. _Unharmed._ "

Nero shrugged. "I don't get it. The guy got kidnapped and set free. I don't see how there's a problem here, _or_ how it supposed to connect with anything demonic."

"It's not about the brothers, kid," Dante rejoined. "It's about _who_ took them."

"What makes you say that?" he asked.

"It's all in the file, Nero," Morrison assured, as Lady handed the boy the file. "Police got photos of the guy responsible for it, thanks to some surveillance cameras at the docks. We're lucky our 'special friend' got to the cops beforehand, or else Dante would be sitting in the _Questioning Room_ of NYPD."

The young man opened the file, with a curious arch in his eyebrow. He read the police file quickly. On the side, were two mug shots of both brothers. Each had their own fishing hat, while the hostage had a beard on his face. Nero skimmed through two pages, before stopping at a certain page. What he saw made his face fall.

There, he spotted a full page with shots of the kidnapper threatening the two fishermen. The picture accurately displayed the man's features. The mere sight of the culprit caused Nero's face to cringe into a scowl, with a furious glare in his eyes.

"When did you get this report?" he hissed.

"Our 'friend' explained the situation to me as early as _this morning,_ " the liaison replied.

The young hunter's eyes snapped towards the old man. "Are you saying that the CIA _knew_ about this, and they didn't even bother to let us in on it _sooner?!_ " he blurted.

"You know how the government is, Nero," Morrison acknowledged. "Any secret they have is more than enough to send the public into _mass chaos_. Let's be lucky they even bothered to tell us _at all._ "

Lady frowned. "So what _exactly_ do they want us to do?"

Patty, who had only listened to the conversation thus far, looked on curiously. She looked at the apprehensive looks of Lady, Trish and Morrison. Then, her eyes looked at Dante's calm expression, before turning to glance at the furious scowl on Nero's face.

Morrison glanced at his partner as he sat on the desk, before looking at everyone else with a stoic expression.

"Simply put, they _don't_ want a repeat of what happened twenty years ago. They want us to _stop_ the problem, before it even _begins._ "

He looked at Dante. "I've been informed that they want him apprehended _alive_ , if possible. But if it turns out to that we _can't,_ which is what'll most likely happen if we're being honest here... They've given us permission to _take him out._ "

Dante blinked once, and then placed his elbows on the table, with his hands in front of his mouth.

Thinking for a few moments, Dante spoke. "Why exactly do they want him?"

The older man shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. Need I remind you that they value their secrecy?"

The devil hunter hummed in affirmation. "Where exactly did the fisherman take him?"

"According to the hostage's testimony, they went to island of Fortuna, where he let the fisher go. The CIA indicated that there aren't any other boats left on the island. This gives them reason to believe that he hasn't left, and is possibly _still there,_ " Morrison replied.

Nero blinked at hearing the name of his old home. Many questions went through his head. The most important one was _'Why Fortuna?'_

"So _that's_ why you wanted me to get my boat. We'll need it to go to Fortuna," Lady deduced. Morrison nodded in response.

Dante paused again, before speaking. "How much?"

"The CIA's offering enough to cover _half_ of your debt. They're the government, remember?" Morrison confirmed.

"Figured they'd be spending tax payer's money on _war,_ not mercenaries like me," the devil hunter mused.

The human devil hunter frowned in annoyance. "If they're paying Dante that much, they'd had _better_ be willing to pay _me_ just as much."

Morrison slyly chuckled. "Glad you feel that way. After all, that means you can finally pay me back for our previous deal."

The remark left the lady as silent as the red-clad devil hunter had been.

Dante remained silent for four whole minutes. As calm and aloof as he usually seemed, jobs like these put his mind ablaze. Truthfully, he did not care about getting paid, or settling his debts. His jobs were usually chosen if they were enough to relieve him of boredom. And this job promised to do just that.

On the other hand, he would have to do what he did twenty years ago. Even though he prevailed, he did not leave without his own battle scars, be they physically and mentally. If he chose to do it again, there was the risk of it happening again. Blood would be spilt by his hands. And the blood on them would not be so different than his own...

"Don't tell me you're actually _thinking_ about this?!"

The Son of Sparda's thoughts were interrupted by his apprentice's protest. Everyone in the room faced Nero, with looks of surprise on their expressions from his outburst.

"I mean, come _on!_ What's there to think about? This deal is a win-win situation! Your debt gets cut in half, the world has one less problem to deal with…"

He then placed the open folder on Dante's desk, and pointed at the photos of the culprit. "And _he_ finally gets what he _deserves._ "

The older hunter shook his head. "Kid, it ain't that simple-"

"To hell, it ain't!" he raged, as he leaned against the front of Dante's desk. "It's as easy as one-two-three. We find the bastard; we finish him off, and come back in time for Patty's birthday! What's so damn _complicated_ about it?!"

"Watch it!" Lady snapped, as she pulled Nero away from the desk. Nero returned her action with a glare.

"Do you ever think about what you say? Have you forgotten _who_ it is you want _dead?_ " she reprimanded.

"No, I _haven't,_ " he shot back. "And I haven't forgotten what he's done, either... But it's seems you all _have._ "

She groaned, taking a second to speak more clearly. "Look, no one's forgotten what happened, _okay?_ But think about this from Dante's point of view..."

"Oh, so _my_ point of view doesn't matter?!" he snapped. "Don't you remember that _he's_ the reason I'm even here?! I mean, I like you guys and all, but I think we know that if he'd never done what he did, then things would have been better off for _both_ of us!"

The young devil hunter gritted his teeth in an attempt to calm himself down. "Look, I've been preparing myself, waiting for this moment to come. I've been doing the jobs that he _wouldn't_ to stay on my toes!" He exclaimed while pointing at Dante. "I'm at my best right now-"

"Hard to tell, considering all the booze you've been chugging down, lately," Dante commented dryly.

Nero clenched his fist. "And yet, that never stopped you."

"Bottom line, kid, this ain't your call to make-"

"And _who's_ call is it to make?! _YOURS?!_ " Nero snapped, as he slammed his hand onto the man's desk.

"Yeah... Because the last time you made a call was _so_ fucking great..."

Dante's harsh expression fell into a neutral one. He looked away from the young hunter, keeping his eyes focused on the the top of his desk.

"Now's not the time for this kid-"

"NOW'S _THE_ PERFECT _TIME FOR THIS!_ " Nero shouted. "Because, believe it or not, this _ain't_ your call! Morrison just said that we can choose whether or not we want to do this. So you guys can debate the pros and cons of taking this job for as long as you want." He then pointed at the ground. "But as for me, _I'm_ not going to stand here, and let anyone else decide _my_ decision for me, when I've made it clear since _day one._ My fate's in _my_ hands, and _you're_ not taking that from me! I'll take that job... _Alone_ if I have to."

The following silence was palpable. Nero's gaze bore into Dante, who had his eyes purposefully closed. Trish, Lady, and Morrison exchanged glances with each other, while Patty covered her mouth with shock.

With a final snort, Nero decided to walk towards the door that lead to the upper room, finally set on his goal.

Dante's voice stopped him. "You're not going _anywhere._ "

Nero resisted the urge to snarl as he faced Dante. "What, _you're_ gonna stop me?"

The older hunter sighed as he stood up. Turning to the younger man, he smirked. "You're not going _alone,_ that is. _We're_ coming with you."

Nero arched an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"Kid, this job has to do with _me_ as much as it has do with _you._ Granted, you didn't give me much time to think, but you're right. We let this go longer than it has to, and we risk people getting hurt. Like the job says, we gotta stop this problem _before_ it begins," he explained, before turning to Morrison. "And I'm guessing the CIA wants us to get started as soon as possible?"

The old man's nod was his response. "In that case, pack your stuff, kid. We're heading out as soon as we're ready."

The boy looked away, before taking a deep breath. "Thank you."

Dante watched as Nero made his way to his room. He then addressed his liaison. "Morrison, let our 'friend' know that we accepted the job."

Morrison nodded. "I'll go get the car ready."

As Morrison walked outside, Dante turned towards the other two hunters. "You got enough ammo in that boat, Lady?"

She nodded. "In every vehicle I use."

Dante smirked, before snatching two gloves from his desk. He quickly put them on his hands, and made his way to the coat rack on the right of his desk. He quickly put on his red coat with stylish western and Italian accents, before swiping Ebony and Ivory into their holsters.

Finally he grabbed his long, heavy, double-edged broadsword, grabbing it by its handle, with its spiked pommel. The blade was notched to the tip, while its guard was skeletal. One side depicted a human skull, while the other showed a screaming, horned demon skull with two bones extended from the side of the ribs, where the sword emerged from.

The devil hunter holstered his sword, the Rebellion, on his back, before looking at the two femme fatales with a grin. "I'm packed."

Trish, however, had a look of apprehension. "Hey. Are you _sure_ you're okay with this?"

Dante shrugged. "We all knew this was gonna come up sooner or later. No sense in draggin' this about."

Lady's eyes furrowed. "But it's..."

"I _know_ who it is... And that's why we gotta do this. Not just because we need to get to the bottom of this, but for the kid, too." He frowned. "I owe him _that_ much."

Just as he finished, the back door opened, and revealed Nero dragging a large black case, with the same symbol on his shoulders on it.

Looking at the devil hunting trio, he nodded towards them. "I'm ready when you all are."

Nodding, Dante then turned towards Patty, who had managed to remain silent the whole time. "Listen, Patty, we're closing up. We can drop you off at your place, if you want."

Patty frowned. "Sure... But don't think this will let you into my birthday party, next week."

Dante chuckled. "Heh, how 'bout this: if I make it back from this job _alive,_ I get to go. Deal?"

Patty gave him a pouting expression, before relenting, and nodded her head in agreement.

"Alright, guys. Let's _rock._ " Dante grinned as he and the other hunters exited the shop, followed by the young Lowell girl.

Before she exited the shop, Patty's eyes spotted a photo frame on Dante's desk, before smiling sadly and closing the door.

The photo she saw was a photo taken two years ago. It was a photo of the entire group in front of Devil May Cry. Dante, hands in his pockets with a calm smile on his face, was in the middle, with Trish on his left, and Lady on his right; both of them were smiling. Next to Lady was Patty, with a bright smile on her face, and her mother, Nina Lowell, with Morrison to their right, his closed and a small smile on his old features.

On Trish's left was Nero, with his right arm in a cast and sling. His eyes had an expression of indifference, with a small frown added to it. On his left however, was a young woman with long orange hair, fair skin, and bronze irises. She wore a white dress, with beige accented wrist cuffs, and gold accents sown around her sleeves, and the edges of her dress. Around the gold accents on the sleeves are the symbols same symbols that are on Nero's shoulder, only in gold. Around her neck was a necklace, depicting four angel wings, with two surrounding a red crystal.

Her hands grasped Nero's left hand, while her head leaned on his shoulder; she was smiling.

* * *

**-Cocoon-**

**-The Seaside City of Bodhum - The Pulse Vestige - Oblatorium-**

A lone figure lied on the floor of the platform in the large chamber. Two pillars were on the side. On top of the right pillar, was a crystalline statue of a girl. Her hair was swept to the right, with two curled pigtails at the end.

Suddenly, the statue began to glow with an orange hue. Then, the crystal began to dissipate from the statue. The crystal dissolved to reveal bright red hair, and bright green eyes opened for the first time in years, before slowly closing again The rest of the crystal on her body dissolved to reveal a slim naked body, before being covered with light. Her feet then revealed beige boots with fur around the opening socket. Around her torso appeared a light pink halter top and an orange-yellow skirt with a bear pelt around her waist. Around her neck, three beaded necklaces appeared, which had various beaded extensions surrounding her attire. Colorful bracelets appeared around both of her wrists and silver hooped earrings pierced to her ears.

The girl floated down to the floor, before collapsing to the ground. After a few seconds, her body stirred awake. Slowly pushing herself up, she blinked slowly while her vision became clearer. The first thing she spotted was the other figure lying near her.

The girl gasped, as she recognized the woman. "Fang!"

She crawled over to the woman, Fang, and tugged on her shoulder. "Hey! Are you alright?"

Fang, who was slightly older than the other girl, groaned as she awoke. She had long wavy dark brown hair, piercing green eyes, and bronze skin. A small braid was behind her left ear, with two clawed earrings on both of them, as well as a beauty mark beneath her eye. On her left arm was a tattoo of the lower part of the skull, with a two spikes protruding on the chin. On her right arm were scars on her shoulder and over her bicep. She wore a blue sari over a black top that exposed her midriff, with black sleeves over her forearms, and a pair tan leather open-toed sandals. A belt was over her waist, with two fur pelts hanging off of it.

The girl helped her friend to her feet, before finally realizing where they were. Fang rubbed her head, as her vision returned to her. When it did, she came to the same conclusion as her friend: they were in unfamiliar territory.

"Wh... Where are we, Vanille?" Fang wondered with her heavy Australian-esque accent in her voice.

The other girl, Vanille, shrugged as well, and answered with her voice that was laced with her own Australian-esque accent. "I don't know..."

The older woman shook her head. "Ugh... How'd we get here?" She thought to herself for a few seconds. "I- I can't remember..."

She then turned to the younger girl, with a hopeful look in her eyes. "Do _you_ remember what happened before we fell asleep?"

Vanille opened her mouth to answer, but stopped when she looked at her friend's arm. On the side of Fang's right bicep, was a large swash of white. In the middle of it was a symbol of an open eye, that portrayed arrows coming out of it. They were pointing upwards and downwards.

The girl eye's widened, before finding her voice. "I... I don't... I can't remember, either..."

Fang's hopeful look instantly fell. "Oh..." she sighed.

The older woman then looked around her, and shrugged. "Guess there's no point standin' here." She then looked back at Vanille. "Let's go look around. We might find clues as to where we are here."

The younger girl nodded with a soft smile, and followed after Fang as she headed for a nearby stair case that went downwards. Vanille's smile fell however, as a guilty expression replaced it.

* * *

_"Kyrie, get to safety!"_

_His sword clashed with another, with sparks flying as metal met with metal._

_"_ NERO! _"_

_"Kyrie! Go with the others and get out of here! Find someplace-"_

_He then heard a crunch and felt an unbearable amount of pain in his left then fell to the ground, and hit his head._

_"Kyrie?_ Kyrie?! KYRIEEEEEEEEEE! _"_

* * *

**-Day 2-**

**-Earth-**

**-North Atlantic Ocean - International Waters-**

Nero's eyes shot open as he sat up from his bed. His eyes remained wide, as he took deep breaths, before sitting on the edge of the bed.

As he leaned forward, he felt something jingle against his chest. Reaching inside of his undershirt's collar, he lifted out something, and his face instantly softened. In his right hand was a necklace with a small golden chain and a golden miniature figure. It depicted a four winged angel. Two wings were outstretched, while the other two were curled around a red crystal.

The young hunter looked at the necklace longingly and sadly. Then, his face contorted into frown as he put the necklace underneath the collar of his shirt again. He then stood up from his bed, and put on his blue coat.

Nero walked to the wall, grabbed his black case, and opened it. Inside were various components in their own separate sockets. Knowing where each piece went, he went to work. It took less than a minute and thirty seconds before he held the completed product in his left hand.

The final product was a long, single-edged Durandal sword, with significant modifications. The handle was red, and the steel emerged from an ornate base that depicted silver rose thorns curling upwards. What was significant about this sword was the motorcycle-like gear shift at the guard of the sword. The top port of the handle acted like a motorcycle handle, with an added brake lever to activate the mechanism.

He sheathed the sword, the Red Queen, over his back, and reached for a revolver on the side counter next to his bed. There were four bunks with four different beds, with a bathroom on the back, and a weapons closet next to it.

The revolver was a heavily modified Smith and Wesson Model 500 double-action revolver. It had a six-shot cylinder, with a long dual-barrel that allowed two shots to be fired at the same time, with porting on each barrel to reduce the recoil and muzzle flip, as well as targeting sights. There was an ornate wooden handle, as well as a blue rose design on the right side, with a thorn design embedded as well as a blue rose emblem.

Nero twirled his revolver, aptly named Blue Rose, and placed it onto its holster on his left hip. Noticing that nobody was inside, he decided to walk outside to the deck, and see where they were.

He walked through the door, and emerged onto the deck of Lady's ship. It was a white charter boat, with Lady steering the boat on the top. Trish, wearing her black shades again, was leaning against the side railing, and he decided to approach her.

"Hey, Trish," he greeted. The blond woman glanced over at the young man and smiled at him. "So, where are we?"

She shrugged. "Don't know. But we should be getting closer to Fortuna. I'd say in about an hour, if not less."

"It usually takes us a full day to get there. It's so _boring_ ," he muttered.

She giggled. "Well at least you slept through the whole day. You didn't have to wait it out like the rest of us. Dante's _so_ bored, he's been moving about in order to keep himself _busy._ "

"I'll bet," Nero chuckled. "Still, I need to be fully rested for the mission. Can't afford to be unprepared."

Trish audibly sighed, before looking away. "I'll tell you _this,_ Nero. I've got one of those strange feelings I usually get when I go on big jobs like this."

The young devil hunter arched an eyebrow. "Whaddya mean?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. "I just _feel_ that things will never be the same, after today."

He frowned at this, before looking out at the sea. "I know..."

Nero looked over his shoulder, and spotted Lady at the wheel. "Hey, I'm gonna go talk to Lady. See ya, _'Gloria.'_ "

Trish, who had used the name "Gloria" while she worked undercover in the Order of the Sword, nodded with a smile. "Keep your chin up, kiddo."

Nero frowned, before walking away. He then went to the ladder, and climbed it up to the wheel, and found the human demon hunter.

Next to her, a small radio was broadcasting a report. _"... In international news this week, a Colombian cartel was attacked recently, with reports of brutal casualties on their part. Witnesses report that some of the men working under the cartel were left with multiple fatal injuries, which involved gunshot wounds. The most gruesome, however, were reports that some cartel members were_ eviscerated _in half. Interpol reports that this attack may be_ connected _to the recent string of incidents where other criminal organizations were_ targeted _in the same brutal manner. No new developments in the investigation have been made, however, indicating that the likelihood of an arrest in the future is_ very _low. For more news updates, go to-"_

Lady flipped the switch on the radio to turn it off. "Glad to know we're doing our job better than _some_ people out there."

"How's it goin', Lady?" he greeted.

She smirked over her shoulder. "Hey, you're finally up."

Nero nodded, before looking forward. He spotted a blot in the distance. "Not too long 'til we get there, huh?"

"Yup. Just wait a while longer. We'll be there before the day ends," she assured.

The boy smiled, but then spotted a large amount of red. Dante was standing on bow, as the wind blew his coat tails.

"I'm gonna check up on Dante. I'll see you in a bit," he told.

He was about to go, before the woman stopped him. "Hold up, Nero. We need to talk."

Blinking in confusion, Nero turned back towards her. "What's up?"

"Look, about yesterday, I'm sorry I snapped at you," she apologized. "But _please_ understand that this issue doesn't just mean a lot to you, but to _all_ of us as well."

The boy frowned, but calmly acknowledged her apology. "I know that... But this is the _only_ lead we've had ever since I got here. And you know why this means so much to me. When I found out there was a possibility that we might've not done this mission, I _couldn't_ let that happen."

Lady sighed. "I know that... But please try to be a _little_ more considerate. This involves Dante on a personal level, too. And the last time this happened, it really affected him. I just don't want whatever happens to change anything."

"I think we all know that it's already _too_ _late_ for that," Nero darkly reminded, but then quickly softened his features. "But I get what you mean. I'll try to watch myself, and the Boss."

Lady smiled. "That's all I'm asking."

He returned the smile, before descending down the ladder. Turning to the right, he carefully made his way to the bow, holding onto the rail with his left hand. Spotting Dante, he approached him.

"Hey, Boss," he greeted.

The red-clad hunter looked over his shoulder, and waved at him. "Hey there, kid. What's up?"

Nero shrugged. "Nothin' much. Just seeing how far Fortuna is."

The older man smirked. "You excited to see your old home again?"

"Don't know," he answered honestly. "Considering how shitty the place was when I left, I'm not sure if I even _want_ to know."

"That's true. Real shame that the UN didn't give you guys the aid when you needed it. And it was such a bullshit excuse, too," Dante lamented.

"Got that right," Nero agreed. " _'The Castle Town of Fortuna is far to dangerous for us to intervene.'_ What a load of horseshit."

Both men shared a laugh at the ridiculousness of the statement. When they finished, Nero slightly frowned.

"Hey, uh... About yesterday... Sorry."

Dante merely waved him off. "Ah, don't sweat it kid. That's water under the bridge."

The young man quickly turned towards. "But... You know _why_ I have to do this, right? I can't stand by and let his crime go unpunished. If there's a _chance_ I can make him pay for what he did to her, I'll take it in a _heartbeat._ "

The older man had a serious look, as he faced the younger devil hunter. "Yeah, I get where you're coming from. But I'm more worried about what'll happen when this job is all said and done."

"Huh?" Nero muttered. "Why's that?"

"Remember, kid, we're not just killing any demon. We're talking about killing someone who's a bit more than that: _a human being._ "

"You mean a _murderer,_ " Nero interjected.

"That too. But if you carry out this job, wouldn't that make _you_ one, too?" he shot back. This caused Nero to slightly flinch. "What's my number one rule, kid?"

The boy blinked before answering. "We don't kill humans."

"Right. And that rule is one of the reasons why I even bothered to _think_ about taking this job. By taking it, I increase the chances of that rule being _broken._ " Nero felt Dante's small glare pierce him. "And the odds are in favor of _you_ being the most likely one to _break it._ "

Dante's expression softened, as he placed his hand on Nero's shoulder. "I know you've had it rough, kid. But I think I speak for all of us, when I say that we don't want nothin' to happen to you. I know for a fact that things won't be the same when this is over. And spilt blood can drastically _change_ a person."

He then retracted his arm back to his side. "I don't want you doin' something that you're gonna regret, _Nero._ "

Whenever Nero heard Dante call him by his full name, he knew that he was being serious. Sighing, the demon hunter answered honestly. "I won't, Dante. I _promise._ "

The half-demon's signature smirk returned. "Glad to hear it, kid," he exclaimed, as he patted the boy's shoulder. "And cheer up. This is technically a _homecoming!_ You haven't been here for a while, so you should be happy."

The elder hunter then walked past Nero, and back to the deck. Nero, however had a small frown on his face. His eyes looked on to the distant island in the horizon, where months of training and waiting might finally pay off.

"Yeah. Where does the time go?"

* * *

**-to be continued in the next mission-**

* * *

Mission 2: Homecoming

The devil hunters return to the ruins of Fortuna, determined to carry out their mission. However, Nero gets more than he bargained for, when he comes across a mysterious discovery. His journey across space and time, finally begins.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to leave a comment, subscribe, and a kudos!


	3. Mission 2: Homecoming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Revised on FF.Net: 3-30-2015

 

* * *

**Mission 2: Homecoming - The Castle Town of Fortuna**

* * *

**-The Castle Town of Fortuna - Port Caerula-**

The first change that he had noticed was the air. Even as they docked into the port, Nero could smell the pungent stench of the air. It reeked of death and decay, which was a far cry of the fragile, odorless aroma that met his nostrils every day he had lived there.

At that moment, he realized that any portion of what was left of the home he grew to know were now eradicated entirely. And what was ironic, in his opinion, was that it was caused by the very people who swore to protect it.

He stood on the bow of Lady's boat, arms crossed, as it docked near the Customs House. The three veteran hunters stood near the wheel.

"Hey, kid! Mind telling us why we're stopping here first?" Dante demanded, as the boat came to a stop.

"Easy," Nero responded, as he jumped onto the stone dock. "There's something I gotta show you guys. It might help with the job."

"Kid, if you're pullin' our legs here-"

"I'm _not,_ " he assured. "It's something I never got to do before I left. C'mon."

As Nero walked underneath the canopy made of junk, he noticed how little had changed in the ports. The wooden walkway that led to the Ferrum Hills was still intact, as well as the metal bridge toward the end of the path. He guessed that the controls on the upper level of the Customs House were still broken, by his hand no less. The stone pathway that led to the city was still there. The only noticeable difference was the debris over the water. Pieces of destroyed boats floated over the water, indicating to other sailors that the island had a dark history to its name.

Nero silently scowled to himself. If this was how the ports were, he dreaded to know how the city looked after all this time.

He led the other hunters into the worn building of the Customs House, which was built with decaying brown bricks, and dirty windows surrounding it. He pushed through the metal doors and entered for the first time in three years.

**-Customs House-**

Nero slightly coughed, due to the dust in the air. Trish and Lady did the same, while Dante merely waved his hands in front of him to swat the dust away.

The room was exactly the same as Nero remembered it, but there were a few new details. The walls were still littered with junk. On one side were grated fences, some of which were torn or out of place. Behind them was a spot here one could dock their boat, as water could be heard behind the fence. The other wall had cluttered junk on it, which included a ladder, tiles, and other uninteresting trinkets.

The center of the room was where the difference was spotted. There were overturned plastic tables and steel chairs, with spilled paper all over the floor.

Nero walked to his right, in the corner near the Fortuna Switch, and the ladder that led to the bridge controls. There was a shelve that had trash on it, with a mop underneath. However, the young hunter's attention was focused on the board that was flat on the ground.

He lifted up, and sighed in relief. "Good. It's still here."

"Okay, what's this about, Nero?" Lady asked in annoyed tone.

He moved out of the way, to show what was taped onto the board. "This is a map of the entire city," he pointed out, before using the hand to indicate the red circles in parts of the map. "And _these_ are the places we're gonna investigate."

"And what makes those areas so special?" Trish inquired.

"You see, after the 'Savior Incident' three years ago, me and whatever was left of the Order of the Sword, or at least those who actually thought that Sanctus _was_ the crazy old coot that he was, formed a small group to find and destroy any and all traces of 'Stutterbox' Agnus' research on demons. We wanted to prevent anyone else from getting their hands on it, so that no one would ever be subjected to that type of experimentation again. "

Dante rubbed his chin hairs. "But you guys never got the chance to start, did you?"

Nero shook his head. "No, we _didn't._ That was around the time the huge surge of demons that had escaped through the Hell Gate attacked. Back then, we were outnumbered, even _with_ the group of Sanctus' sympathizers. I managed to off a good number of them, but it still wasn't enough. When the demons began to attack civilians, we had no choice but to flee. We had already lost one-third of the island's population, so we couldn't take any chances. We left Fortuna _for good._ And after all this time, I'd nearly forgotten about our investigation, until I remembered it on our way here."

Lady raised her hand. "Not to sound rude, or anything, but what does this have to do with _the job?_ "

"Simple. Our target's got an unhealthy fascination with demonology, especially when it comes to a certain demon: _Sparda,_ " he explained, as he quickly glanced at his comrades with a serious expression. They were all familiar with the name of Dante's demon father, who had betrayed demon-kind in favor of humanity, and sealed the gateway to the Demon World two thousand years prior.

"Since the Order of the Sword worshiped Sparda, and considering the psychotic nature of their experiments, I figured that there was a slight chance that Sanctus and Agnus may have possibly found some other relics pertaining to Sparda. And the first place Agnus would record his findings would be in his _notes._ So if we find these safe houses, and if there's information hidden in them..."

"We might be able to find out _why_ he even bothered to come here," Dante finished, realizing what the former knight was saying.

"But wait, what if he's just here to open the Hell Gate? He might've not known about their destruction until he actually arrived," Trish queried.

"Nah, I don't think so," Dante responded. "There's no way he would've come here, and _not_ know that I already destroyed them beforehand. It's _possible,_ but knowing him, I doubt it."

Nodding at her partner's observation, Lady noticed something about the map that was off on the left part of it. "So, what's that huge blotch of red, Nero?"

Nero looked at the map, before shaking his head. "That's where the Savior fell _after_ I crushed its face."

Dante looked at the map carefully. "Where are these places at, kid? You're the local, here, so where do you want to start?"

The boy fidgeted slightly. "Actually... I was thinking that maybe we should split up."

The older devil hunter arched an eyebrow. "Come again?"

"Just hear me out," Nero pleaded. "There're _four_ of these areas that need to be investigated, and there's _four_ of us. With everyone looking out for clues, we might be able to get this done faster, and find important information sooner."

"And what happens when we get ambushed, eh?" the red-clad devil hunter pried.

"We all know enough to hold our own against a few demons," Nero answered.

"But what if it's _him_?" Lady countered.

The former knight flinched slightly, before answering. "Then we hold our own."

"Yeah, _not_ _happenin',_ " Dante disagreed. "That's a quick and easy way to get yourself in trouble-"

"I think we should do it," Trish said over his voice.

Dante did a double-take, before turning to the she-devil. "Say wha...?"

"We should do it," she repeated. "We'd be able to cover more ground that way. Plus, if we fought together, we wouldn't have time to warm up with a few demons beforehand. You'd just take them all."

"Ain't my fault you can't keep up, babe," Dante retorted.

"Still, we should do what the kiddo says. It might be fun. After all, who can resist a good _fight?_ "

The Son of Sparda inwardly cursed. She knew he liked to have good fights every now and then. In fact, when he fought with Nero the first time, he wouldn't even use his full power; he'd use just enough to keep the fight _going_.

"Maybe... But there's still the issue of communication," he reminded.

Lady spoke up. "I think I can fix that." She then reached into one of her ammo pockets, and pulled out four small devices, which were black, round, and had antennas.

"I figured that something like this might happen, so I brought these communicators just in case. They all have the same frequency, so we can keep in touch with each other."

She handed one to each one of the hunters, saving the last one for herself.

"Now that just leaves us with the matter of who's going where," Trish breathed.

The Son of Sparda crossed his arms. "More importantly, what are those places on the map?"

Nero pointed to the left of the map. "Well, these two blots over here are warehouses. According to his notes, Agnus used them to create Bianco Angelos through the Ascension Ceremony. They're deep inside the easternmost part of the city, which is also a part of the Business District."

Trish looked at the map, with a growing smile on her face. "I'll take those warehouses."

"Honestly, I recommend you take someone else with you. And by 'someone,' I mean Dante," Lady advised.

"Wha- Why me?" Dante protested.

"Because, out of all of us, _I'm_ the only one who can sail a boat. And unless you can't see, there's a huge blotch near the ports," she elaborated, as she pointed at the bottom part of the map.

"I was about to suggest the same thing," Nero revealed. "Since you can man the boat, you can go check out the warehouses by the other ports, while at the same time keeping the boat safe."

"Hold up a sec, kid. Where do _you_ fit into this?" the devil hunter interjected.

Nero shrugged, and pointed to the bottom right of the map. "I was thinking I'd head to the Residential District. There were plans to investigate the Order of the Sword Security Garrison. I figured that if Agnus was looking for test subjects for the Ascension Ceremony, _that_ would have been the place to go. Also, that place was where I slept for most of my life. I know the layout better than anyone here. If Agnus was scouting knights there, then it's just as good a place to look for clues as any."

Dante thought over what he had heard, and slowly nodded. "Okay, but say we do find some helpful clues. What do you want us to do with it?"

"If it's helpful, I suggest you guys take it with you," Nero suggested. "Otherwise, burn everything when you're done. I don't want to risk anyone getting a hold of this information. It could cause trouble in the future, so it's best we destroy the data now _before_ it falls into the wrong hands."

"So what happens when we're done checking out these spots?" Trish asked.

The boy's face darkened slightly. "Then we meet up at the most _obvious_ place to look." His left index finger pointed at the center of the map. "We head to the Arts District, a.k.a. the Opera House."

Lady blinked in confusion, and turned to Dante. "Wait, I thought you said he _wasn't_ going to head for the Hell Gate?"

"I said he probably _knew_ about their destruction. I didn't say that he _wouldn't_ go there," he clarified.

"Plus, the Order had a lot of secrets that they were willing to hide, even when I, or 'Gloria,' was with them. They may have hidden something else in the Opera House that none of us might've known about," Trish added.

Lady accepted the explanation. "Alright. Then we have our jobs."

Dante smirked. "The hell are we standin' around here for, then? Let's get to work!"

* * *

_"Thank you, Ms. Kyrie!"_

_Nero smiled as Kyrie handed a bouquet of flowers to the little girl. Kyrie had requested that Nero go with her as she went to go pick up flowers for the city hospital. She planned to give a bouquet to each patient, hoping that the flowers would keep their spirits up, and encourage them to not give up on the hope of recovery. They were just about to head for the hospital, when a little girl, one that Kyrie had watched over before, had approached them asking for a bouquet. Apparently, the hospital announced the arrival of the flowers, and the girl wanted to be the one to give her ailing mother the flowers personally._

_With a story like that, Nero had to admit that even_ he _would have given her a bouquet._

_Kyrie smiled, as the girl waved good-bye. She then turned towards Nero, but was surprised by his amused expression._

_"What is it?" she asked shyly as she met his gaze._

_Nero chuckled. "Nothin'. Just watching you be your usual, charitable self, is all." He then gave her a genuine smile. "You did good."_

_Kyrie returned the smile. "I'd like to think so..."_

_Grinning, Nero playfully shoved her. "Well, c'mon. Don't we have to go deliver these flowers?"_

_The young girl giggled, before pushing the cart to the hospital, with Nero by her side._

* * *

**-Residential District-**

Nero stood before the old flower shop. The windows were broken, and the sign had fallen from its perch. Inside, he could see the wilted remains of several flowers, as well as many overturned shelves, and broken pots.

It was nothing but a shell of the joyful gathering place it used to be.

Frowning sadly, Nero continued his trek towards the Security Garrison.

* * *

**-Order of the Sword Security Garrison-**

Nero managed to get inside the large white building, with the Order's emblem on top of the doorway. The white bricks were decayed, and windows were either dirty or broken. Even the stained glass windows had some glass chipped off. Inside was a mess. Several objects were sprawled along the floor, which included papers, glass, and overturned plants. However, what truly stuck out was the blood and the corpses. The place reeked of death, with decayed corpses of knights leaning against the walls, as well as the dry blood splattered across them. The former knight assumed that his comrades had put up a fight when the demons came.

As Nero looked over the library for anything on their objective, he realized that he did not personally know any of the other knights in the Order by name, let alone befriended any of them. The only ones he was familiar with were his friend Credo, the lecherous Swordmaster Evangelium, who was the man who finished Nero's training in the mastery of the sword, and his five pupils. He recalled that they named their little group "the Knights of the Round," which was because each member named themselves after the fabled "Knights of the Round Table" of Arthurian legends. He was offered the chance to join them, but flat out refused. He had learned enough from them to know that they cared little for human life, and did not want others to believe him to be greater than he thought he was.

But even then, most knights looked down upon him for three reasons: his efficiency in battle, his "heretical" use of a gun, and his refusal to believe in the Order's teachings. Because of this, he usually did not work with any other knights. In fact, he actually preferred working alone; this gave him the nickname "the Lone Wolf of the Order."

Nevertheless, when the time came, his fellow comrades fought valiantly to protect the city and its people. A good number sacrificed themselves for the sake of others. That alone earned them his respect and eternal gratitude.

He sighed in frustration, as he threw the papers on the floor. So far, after searching both the Garrison Library, and the Executive Quarters, his search came up fruitless. No mention of potential demonic experimentation subjects, or ancient relics with connections to Sparda.

He looked outside, and saw that the sun's position had changed, which indicated that it was the middle of the afternoon. The group had arrived at the middle of the day, which meant that had spent around four hours looking through the complex. He surmised that there was at least three hours of daylight left. And since he had found nothing, the only thing left for him to do was to contact the others, and head for the Opera House.

But first, he wanted to visit his old room.

**-Residential Quarters - Nero's Room-**

Nero walked down the hallway, keeping a close eye on the numbers, before finally find his old room number: thirteen.

Alarms blared through his head the moment he spotted the broken, blood-splattered door slightly open.

The former knight had his hand gripping his revolver in seconds, and slowly pulled it out of its holster. He inched towards the door carefully, keeping his ears open for any suspicious sounds.

He walked past the doorway, and frowned at what he saw. A headless decomposed body leaned against the drawer next to his window, with the severed head in the middle of his untucked bed. A knight must have gotten into his room, before being mauled by demons during their raid on the city. Sighing, the former knight holstered the Blue Rose, and warily walked into the room. Apart from the fallen coat rack by the door and the bloody mess, everything remained relatively unchanged.

Even the photo on the counter next to his bed.

Stepping over the legs of the body, the young hunter walked over to the counter, and picked up the photo. Luckily, it too remained untouched after all of this time.

The photo was taken one year before the Savior Incident, and it was of him and his foster family. In the middle of it was Kyrie, with her hair still tied into a ponytail, and hands behind her back. Nero was to the left, with his arms crossed, and giving a small smile. Back then, his right arm was still human.

On Kyrie's right, though, was her older brother, the Supreme Captain of the Holy Knights, Credo. His arms were behind his back, as he he wore a fully buttoned white coat with ornate yellow designs and the Order's insignia sewn into his sleeves. His brown, shoulder length hair was slicked backwards, while he practically glared at the camera with his light brown eyes.

The man betrayed Nero once, three years ago during the Savior Incident. Credo had sacrificed his humanity for his beliefs, and challenged Nero to a duel when the boy had discovered the Order's true motives. Nero had won, but Agnus, the stuttering head researcher and alchemist of the Order, had kidnapped Kyrie right after; the Mad Alchemist had done it in front of _both_ of them, no less. When the Order had kidnapped him as well, Credo was the one who first tried to set them free, but failed and was fatally wounded by the leader of the Order and the Mad Vicar of Sparda, Sanctus.

After Sanctus and the Savior were destroyed, Dante revealed to Nero that Credo had died from his injuries, and had given the devil hunter the last request of saving his sister and him from the Mad Vicar. According to the Son of Sparda, Credo dissolved into golden light, before vanishing from existence.

There was no better way for his honorable friend to go.

Sighing sadly, Nero put the frame back in its spot on the counter. Deciding that he had walked through Memory Lane long enough, Nero decided to head for the Arts District.

That was when he heard the sound of demonic cackling just a few feet to his left.

Thinking quickly, he dove out of the window to his right, barely missing the swipe of a large blade.

**-Training Grounds-**

Nero fell over three floors, before landing onto his feet with a crouch. Dust kicked up around him the moment he landed.

He looked up and saw that he was now in the Training Grounds, where rookies and high-ranking knights would train and practice their combat skills. Nero recalled that it was here, in this very area, where he first learned how to fight.

His reverie was cut short, however, when he heard the demonic cackling again. This time, though, it was all around him. On the ground he noticed multiple burlap sacks that were scattered throughout the yard. Then, black beetles skittered out of nearby crevices, trashcans, and junk bins. The beetles moved along the ground, before finally entering one of the burlap sacks. The sack shifted left and right, before slowly inflating itself, giving Nero a good look at what stood before him.

The burlap sack formed the creature's body, which was stitched up with multiple other rags, and stood on two wooden pikes. One side had a wooden arm, while the other had a large guillotine blade. Its face had two hollow eyes, and a stitched up mouth. Suddenly, another burlap sack came to life as well. This one, however, had a doctor's mask sewn on its face, and the large blade was its right leg. More and more of these monsters, the Scarecrows, came to life, each with its own distinct features.

Nero scoffed in annoyance. "Great. The dirtbags finally popped up."

The demons said nothing, as they slowly surrounded him.

An amused smile then made its way to his face. "I gotta admit though, I was beginning to wonder when you guys would show up. No way are you ever _this_ quiet."

The Scarecrows inched forward, practically surrounding him. The smile never left his face as he looked at every demon surrounding him.

"But since you're all here, why don't we get this over with? Who wants to start us off?"

He heard glass breaking above him. Nero looked up, and saw that a Scarecrow had leaped out of the window he had jumped out of, and was falling towards him.

The young devil hunter took a deep breath. "Guess I'll go first, then."

As the Scarecrow was about to maul him from mid-air, Nero swiftly did a back-flip, and kicked the demon into the crowd. The act pushed several of them backwards into the air due to the hard impact of the kick.

One of the demons recovered, only to receive the other end of Nero's left foot. The blow sent it crashing towards another group of demons, which sent more flying into the air. A Leg Scarecrow spun towards the devil hunter with its leg outstretched, but Nero ducked under it, and tripped its leg from underneath. He then did a spinning kick that sent it flying into another crowd of demons.

An Arm Scarecrow lunged for him, but he quickly backed away from the demon. It lunged for him again, but this time he caught the blunt side of the blade in his hand. Using the momentum of the downward swing, Nero lifted the demon into the air, and slammed it onto the ground. Before it could react, he planted his foot onto the Scarecrow's head, instantly killing it, and yanked the blade out.

Looking at the curved blade, he lunged his arm backwards, before throwing the guillotine at the crowd. The blade spun around the demons, instantly slicing them. Due to the blade's curve, however, the weapon flew around Nero, like a boomerang. Scarecrows screeched in pain as the guillotine tore through the burlap sacks, which caused green ooze to shoot out.

The blade then flew back to Nero, who ducked, and looked over his shoulder to see the blade impale itself into a Leg Scarecrow.

Standing up from his crouch, Nero noticed that there were now less Scarecrows than when he started. He figured that it was time to use his blade to cut them down to size.

He reached over his left shoulder, and grabbed the handle of his Durandal, the Red Queen, and brought its tip down to the concrete. With the blade held down, he twisted the handle of his blade, which activated the motor mechanism on the sword that shot out flammable propellant from the exhaust.

Nero narrowed his eyes. "Your move."

Three Scarecrows quickly lunged towards him. The former knight then ran forward, while holding his burning Durandal with his left hand over his right shoulder. Before any of the demons could strike him, he swiftly cut through them as he charged past. The force of his slash caused him to continue spinning, which allowed him to cut more demons in half. The propellant of his sword covered the blade in flames, which allowed it to cut through the Scarecrows in an arc of searing flames. The demons' remains fell to the ground, scorched by the might of his EX Streak technique.

When he finished, only three more Scarecrows were left: two Arm Scarecrows and one Leg Scarecrow. The two Arm Scarecrows moved towards the devil hunter, with the one on his right bringing its blade down. Nero deflected it with his own blade, and then struck the Scarecrow horizontally on its unguarded right side, before cutting through it again to slice through the unguarded left side of the other Arm Scarecrow.

Nero managed to look up, and saw that the last Leg Scarecrow was in the air, and bringing its blade down towards him. The hunter twisted his hand around the Red Queen's handle to grip it in reverse. With a mighty heave, he struck the demon with a vertical swing that launched it into the air; he followed with a leap. In mid-air, he hacked at it from left and right, with each swipe tearing away the burlap sacks that comprised the demon. After he landed four successful strikes, he arched his Durandal backwards, and swung downwards with a loud cry. The force of the blade eviscerated the demon in two, while sending the demon hunter down to the ground. He landed on his feet, while the Scarecrow's slimy innards spilled into the ground a few feet away.

Nero stood up, and visibly relaxed as the demon's remains dissolved. He sighed, as he rolled his neck.

However, he visibly frowned when a sound came to his ears: the sound of something skidding along the concrete.

Quickly turning around, he saw that three massive rolling blades were heading for him, and he did not have much time to react. He swatted one of the blades to the right with his own, and then swatted the other to the left. Unfortunately, the last rolling blade was upon him, and he had no time to deflect it. Gritting his teeth, he twisted to the side, but timed it wrong. Knowing that he had no other options, he raised his cast in front of him to brace for the pain. He felt the blades rip through the his forearm before he landed on the ground. When he felt the ground on his back, the former knight rolled backwards onto his feet.

As he skidded backwards, Nero glanced at his new adversaries as they immediately stopped rolling, and landed on their stomachs. The demons then got to their feet, and faced him. Their skin comprised of leather sacks, which were stitched throughout their body, as well as zipped together with zippers. Their faces were made of leather, with two empty eye sockets, and a long trunk that was covered with brown leather, and a gold ring at the end. Their feet were actually two knives that impaled themselves into the ground to support each demon's balance. Both of their arms had three large blades, as well as a large singular one in the back. He stood up, warily keeping his eyes on the new demons: the Mega Scarecrows.

The stinging in his right arm quickly disappeared, and he examined it. To Nero's annoyance, he saw that the sling, the cast beneath it, and the lace that held it together was ripped. Other than the obvious tears, the clue that gave him the conclusion that the cast was now useless was the blue light that was coming from underneath it.

" _Okaaay,_ " he mused in annoyance, as he impaled the tip of the Red Queen to the ground. "Looks like we're at a _draw._ I got your goons, and you landed a hit on me."

The demons approached slowly, only growling in response to his statement. Meanwhile, the demon hunter yanked his right arm to side, which ripped the lace that held his sling. He then proceeded to pull the sling out of his forearm, before throwing it to the side. As the sling landed softly on the ground, Nero reached for the red finger-less glove on his right hand, and took it off with his left.

The young man sighed, as he shoved the glove into the left pocket of his pants. "So how's this, then? This time, we do sudden death rules. _Winner takes all._ "

The three Mega Scarecrows screeched at him in response.

Nero then grabbed the hilt of his Durandal with his left hand, while slowly clenching his right fist.

"And _all bets are off,_ " he snarled, as a blue light began to shine underneath his cast.

The Mega Scarecrow in the middle did not wait any longer, and lunged towards the devil hunter. Reacting to the demon's charge, Nero rushed forward while yanking the Red Queen from the ground. Dragging the sword behind him, the former knight brought his right arm forward. Both demon and warrior were within inches from each other.

And before they could touch each other, Nero's cast burst into a hue of blue light.

When it subsided, the Mega Scarecrow was struggling to escape the grasp of a spectral arm. The entire forearm was a phantasm blue, while most of the hand was covered with red flesh, but the clawed fingers were as blue as the entirety of the arm.

With the light gone, Nero's right limb was fully exposed. In the place of a regular human arm was, instead, an arm that was entirely disfigured, and was demonic to the point of being nearly draconic. His claws, palm, and forehand had glowing blue skin, with a large blue crack in the middle of his forearm. The rest of his arm was covered in red organic flesh, with a spike protruding from his elbow. Purple strap-like flesh covered the top part of his arm. More importantly, it resembled the spectral arm that held the demon in place.

Nero finally revealed the secret weapon that was his powerful right arm: the Devil Bringer.

With a snarl, Nero slammed the Mega Scarecrow into the ground with the phantom arm, the Spectral Bringer. Then, with a furious cry, he ran forward, and kicked the demon hard in the face. He then leaped into the air, and lunged his Bringer forward, which in turn whipped the Spectral Bringer forward to perform his Snatch technique. The Bringer Snatched the demon, and brought it upwards to him. He grabbed it, and spun in mid-air. After making one spin, he then tossed the demon downwards towards one of the other demons, where it exploded in slimy green bits.

When he landed, Nero noticed that the blade that was on the previously alive Mega Scarecrow had shot into the air due to the force of its destruction. Thinking quickly, he gripped his sword like a baseball bat, and waited for the blade to come closer to the ground. When it was within blade's reach, he struck the blade right in the middle, which sent it flying towards the demons. One of the demons had also charged forward, but was right in the middle of the flying blade's path. The large guillotine impaled itself into the chest of the demon, which stopped its charge.

The other demon had ran towards the demon hybrid, while spinning the blades in its arms. They spun wildly, and were seen as a silver circular blur. The Mega Scarecrow then literally threw its arms towards the attacking hunter. Nero prepared himself as the sharp boomerangs came to him. He dove between the two boomerangs, and quickly got to his feet. He raised the Red Queen to attack, as the blades returned to the Mega Scarecrow's shoulders.

The demon swung at him with its right blade, but he parried it with his blade. Nero then ducked underneath the left blade that went over his head. Using demonic energy, the part demon slid backwards with both hands on his Red Queen. Using his Devil Bringer, he channeled blue demonic aura to envelop the entirety of the blade. He charged forward and slashed the Mega Scarecrow with a rising slash, thus finishing his Shuffle technique.

The demon fell backwards on its back, with a large gash on its chest, with blue demonic aura burning its burlap skin. However, Nero was not going to give it the chance to recover, and leaped upwards. Bringing the tip of his sword downwards, he let out a battle cry, as he impaled his Red Queen into the chest of the Mega Scarecrow. The demon let out a screech of pain, but it was not over yet. Nero then twisted the handle of his blade, and revved it. Flaming propellant injected itself into the beast, and the Mega Scarecrow howled as its innards burned to ashes.

Suddenly, the Scarecrow then shot along the field, with Nero riding on top of it. He grinned ferociously as they approached a nearby wall to the street. When they were a few feet away from the wall, he pulled the sword out of the demon's chest, and jumped backwards. The Mega Scarecrow continued forward, until it smashed against the wall. When it made contact, however, it instead exploded in a surge of flames.

Nero did a back-flip, before landing on his feet. He stood up, and placed his sword over his shoulder, as he examined the fruits of his labor. The flames covered a large hole that led out of the complex, with smoke rising out of the sky There were not enough flames to block his path, so he finally decided to sheath the Red Queen, leave the premises, and head for the next objective.

However, Nero made sure to charge up the energy in his arm. The Devil Bringer began to glow blue. After a few seconds, the glow became purple. A few more seconds after that, it became red.

When it did, the last Mega Scarecrow lunged for him in mid-air. The large blade from the first Mega Scarecrow was still embedded in its chest, but its blind fury caused it to simply ignore the pain. Knowing that the demon was upon him, Nero did a one-hundred-eighty degree spin, and whipped out his Blue Rose. He channeled all the demonic energy in his right arm into the dual-barrel revolver. And finally, he fired it at the demon.

Two bullets enveloped in demonic aura flew into the Mega Scarecrow's chest. As soon as they made contact, the demon's chest burst into pieces. The charred remains of the monster flew backwards into the ground, as burnt beetles and green slime covered the floor. The large blade in its back spun in the air, before impaling itself into the floor.

Nero kept his eyes narrowed at the remains of the demons, waiting for anything else to happen. He gripped his gun tightly, before relaxing. The devil hunter then twirled the gun in his hand skillfully, before finally holstering it.

"And that, folks, is how you _bring down the house,_ " he said to no one in particular, as he walked out of his old training grounds.

As he walked away from the Garrison, Nero glanced at his Devil Bringer. He reached into his left pocket and pulled out some black medical tape. Nero examined the roll of tape, before shaking his head and putting it back in his pocket.

"Better save it for when I get back... _If_ I get back, that is," he muttered. "Still, buyin' a new sling's gonna be a pain in the ass."

Suddenly, he heard a noise coming from the left pocket of his coat. Reaching for it, he then pulled out is portable communicator.

"This is Nero. Somebody call, over?" he asked.

* * *

**-Abandoned Warehouse - Hidden Laboratory-**

"Yeah, it's me, kid," Dante answered. "We heard a few pops over here. Everything okay on your end?"

" _Yeah. Just ran into a few demons over here. Nothin' I couldn't handle on my own._ " Nero's voice responded on the older hunter's communicator.

"I see. Well, did ya find anything?"

" _Nothing useful. No progress reports on potential suspects, or stupid notes on the whole 'Savior Project.' How are things on your end?_ "

Trish, who was standing near a small, empty tank, spoke into her walkie-talkie. "We founds some interesting notes about shards they were using. Apparently, Agnus used these demonic shards of a _'Black Angel'_ to give life to our old friends, the Bianco Angelos."

* * *

**-Residential District-**

Nero's eyebrow arched upon hearing the news. "Shards? What else do those notes say?"

" _Supposedly, Agnus was studying one of the shards more closely in this lab. Unfortunately, the capsule that was holding it is empty,_ " confirmed Trish, as her voice responded from the communicator.

He frowned. "You think the target got to it first?"

" _Possibly. Or maybe a demon found it, and now we've got a_ potentially powerful demon _running amok._ "

" _Just another day at the job,_ " Dante quipped on the other end.

Nero merely sighed in frustration. "Anything else?"

" _We got word from Lady right before we contacted you. According to her, most of the notes are 'ancient history.' And by 'ancient,' I mean that it's_ useless. _She's turning back, and heading for the rendezvous point._ "

"Yeah. I'm actually on my way there now. Listen, as soon as you guys finish, make sure you destroy all the research there."

* * *

**-Hidden Laboratory-**

"'So that no crazy kook can ever use it again.' Yeah, we got it kid," he said, as distant growls outside of the room caused him to smile expectantly. "And from the sound of things over here, it looks we're gonna have a little _help_ with that."

" _Alright, then. See you guys over here._ "

"And while you're at it, kid," interjected the red-clad devil hunter. " _Don't_ do anything stupid. Like _confronting the target_ if he decides to show up," he warned.

" _Don't worry about me,_ " was the younger hunter's response, before the walkie-talkie went silent.

Dante frowned, as he pocketed his communicator. "I got a bad feeling about this. And you know me: I _never_ get a bad feeling."

Trish shrugged. "He could decide to actually follow your directions, you know."

"Yeah," he nodded. "But then the kid wouldn't be the kid, now _would_ _he?_ "

Trish gave him a small smile, as she put her hands on her hips. "Yeah, I guess not... Anyway, we're gonna have guests in a bit."

Dante returned the smile with an expectant grin, as he unholstered both Ebony and Ivory. "Yeah... Why don't we go say hi?"

* * *

**-Business District-**

Nero's trek was unpleasant to him, in the sense that it infuriated him. Everything his eyes landed on was a painful reminder to him of the events that led to the demise of his beloved home. He saw destroyed buildings that once belonged to respectful businesses, and apartment complexes that once housed innocent civilians. He knew the city was far from perfect, but he personally felt that no human being should ever have to experience what happened on that island. What bothered him the most was the stench of death that came from alleyways that housed rotting corpses.

Nevertheless, he kept a straight face as he walked in the middle of the street. Debris was on all sides, with abandoned cars littered around him and the distant sound of the howling wind entered his eardrums. His eyes only faced forward, never leaving the stone arch with the iron doors in front of him. He was silent, as he walked through the gate to enter the Opera House Plaza.

**-Arts District - Opera House Plaza-**

Nero continued walking as he entered the large, destroyed plaza. In front of him was the remains of the plaza's fountain, which still had running water flowing into the ground. In the distance, beyond the dead, wilted trees, was the remains of a large structure: the True Hell Gate. The young hunter recalled that Dante had destroyed it when the Order had unleashed the horde of demons in the Savior's wake.

The boy's eyes then faced forward, and looked at the building ahead of him: the Opera House of Fortuna. There it stood, with both of the large pools of clear water at its sides, and the Gothic spires surrounding the round building. Round stained-glass windows surrounded the dome, with steeples at its side. In the past, the people of Fortuna who were followers in the Order's teachings attended Sunday Mass there. And every year, during the Festival of the Blade, the people would gather around to watch the Order's Songstress perform. Nero was there at the last performance that was held in the Opera House.

Right before the Fall of Fortuna.

The former Knight of the Order walked towards the building, walking past the destroyed building. He was about to sit on the stone steps and wait for his partners, when something caught his eye. On the sides of the stone path towards the Opera House were large black fences with stone lampposts. Sticking out of one of the lampposts was a blade that was usually found with Scarecrows. However, something about it was off.

Nero walked towards it to investigate. When he did, he found that the blade was indeed a Scarecrow's Guillotine. However, he noticed that it was only the top half of the blade, while the half that had the handle was nowhere present. But that was not why it caught his attention.

He touched the part of the blade that was cut softly. The boy slowly slid his hand across the metal. Nero's eyes slowly narrowed as he felt no imperfection in the touch. This told him that whatever cut the metal of the blade did it in a fluid manner, with no friction of the metal at all. But since he knew that the cut was a perfect slice, there was only one conclusion.

This blade's defect was caused by the target, who could possibly be inside.

Nero reached for the communicator in his coat pocket, but stopped himself. In his mind, he wrestled with himself for which action to take. His mind told him to contact his partners, and alert them of the possible sighting. That way, they could fight the target together. However, something deep in his mind, as well as the entirety of his heart, told him otherwise. If this truly was the target, then he wanted to confront him face-to-face, and alone. He wanted to look into culprit's eyes, before finally eliminating him. There would be no compromise, and no talking. Only vengeance.

And that alone, was everything to him. At that moment, he made his choice.

His hand moved away from his coat pocket, and reached for the Blue Rose instead. Holding it upwards, he proceeded to walk up the stone steps slowly. Nero saw the only entrance to the Opera House was through the right corridor, so he walked down the red carpet that was tattered along it. When he reached the end, his eyes only fixated on the door inside. He even ignored the large, golden Divinity Statue, that depicted a creature with a female body but the head of a lion holding a large, golden hourglass above it.

The devil hunter slowly reached for the door with his Devil Bringer. He felt the wooden texture with the tips of his claws, and felt the cold metal of the ornate gold corners of the door. He took a deep, silent breath, and pushed the door slightly open. The doors creaked as he opened it, which made him cringe. Deciding that he had to open it quickly, Nero pushed the door open and entered the building.

**-Opera House-**

The part demon caught the door before it could slam closed. He then pushed it softly to close the entrance. Keeping his gun raised, he then walked down the staircase to enter the bottom floor of the chamber. He held his gun, and opened the wooden door slightly to look inside. He could see that there were a lot of broken chairs and large stones from the ceiling. He could also make out some glass. More importantly, nobody was inside.

Still moving with caution, Nero entered into the stage floor. Looking around, he realized that there was not much light in the room, save for the ones coming from the windows, whether they were broken or not. Many broken or damaged benches were along the walls. Nero recalled that many of them were broken by both him and Dante during their first encounter here. Looking up, he saw that the large statue of Sparda was still damaged; it was also a consequence of him and Dante's fight.

However, there were no signs of the target.

Relaxing, Nero holstered his gun, and took the communicator out of his pocket.

He pressed the button on its side, and spoke. "Dante, come in."

" _Heya, kid. What's up?_ " said the voice of Dante on the other end.

Nero sighed. "I made it to the Opera House. I also secured the premises. It's vacant."

" _I thought we were doin' that once we were all_ together?"

"I checked to see if any monsters were present. There are none."

" _Right,_ " Dante replied with an unbelieving tone. " _Listen, Lady just caught up to us. We're on our way to the Opera House now, so_ stay put _until then._ "

The boy thought to himself, before speaking again. "Just so you know, after I was done looking around, I found a small clue that may suggest that the target has been here."

Nero waited for a whole minute before he heard Dante's sarcastic reply. " _Of course you did._ "

"I'm _serious,_ old man!"

" _Sure. Look, we'll be there shortly._ Stay put _,_ " the older devil hunter advised in an annoyed tone.

Nero frowned. Deciding to follow the man's instructions, and sat on the stage. Multiple scenarios went through his mind, as he wondered how Dante would chastise him, and how he himself would respond. The boy stopped however, when he felt a sensation in his right arm.

He looked at his Devil Bringer, and noticed that the blue flesh, mostly the skin of his forearm, was glowing. This particular sensation was something he referred to as his "Devil Bringer going off." It usually occurred when a powerful surge of energy was nearby.

Glancing over his shoulder curiously, he frowned when he saw that a part of the floor was glowing: a circular crest; the Songstress would always perform on this stage. It looked like a sun, in the center of it was an image that depicted hands reaching out in a circle. In the center of it all was a golden version of the Order's emblem. However, as soon as his Bringer went off, all the tile began to glow brightly in blue.

The young hunter arched an eyebrow curiously. He stood up on the stage, but did not step into the circle. After looking at it closely, Nero then recalled what Dante had told him long ago. After Dante defeated Agnus, a hidden elevator appeared that led to a hidden cavern beneath the island. Underneath the Opera House was a waterway that contained the Seal that opened the True Hell Gate. However, due to the destruction of the Hell Gate, the Seal was now rendered useless.

However, it was also likely that the target would come there.

The boy thought to himself. He could have a look, and see what was left of the Seal. However, he would risk himself getting in further trouble with the others. But if his assumption was correct, which was obvious considering the circumstances, then Nero would be one step closer to finding the target.

"And it's not like I'm _goin_ ' anywhere. I'm still technically _'staying put,'_ " he mused.

Deciding to test his luck, Nero slowly stepped onto the circle. He stood there for a few seconds, before he felt a jolt underneath him. Then, the circle underneath began to descend downwards like an elevator, with Nero along for the ride.

Nero waited as the platform slowed to a stop. The space around him was very small, with gold linings along the walls. That all changed when he reached the bottom. The young hunter saw nothing but darkness, but his Devil Bringer began to glow, which gave the room enough light to give him a good view of his surroundings.

The platform had descended into a wide, circular room. Surrounding Nero along the walls were statuettes of Sparda that resembled the larger one in the Opera House. However, these statues were unharmed, and depicted Sparda in a robe while his hands were on the pommel of his sword that was pointing to the ground.

The other feature in the room was right in front of Nero. There were two iron doors, with golden emblems of the Order in the middle of them. Seeing as there were no handles on them, Nero realized that the doors needed to be pushed. So he walked over to the doors, opened the one on the right side, entered the next corridor.

**-Hell Gate Seal-**

The former knight walked into a dark corridor, with his Devil Bringer being the only light to guide him. As he walked, he could hear water dripping down the corridor, as well as water rushing down. This told him that he needed to keep an eye out if he did not want to fall into water.

But as he walked down the corridor, two flames suddenly lit on the walls next to him. He swiftly unholstered the Blue Rose, and pointed it forward. The young demon hybrid stood silently, waiting for something to occur. When nothing did, he continued to slowly tread forward. As he did, more flames lit themselves on the torches on the walls. The devil hunter continued to walk along the path, and finally made it to the end after a few minutes.

More flames lit, and he got a good view of the seal. Before him was a walkway that led to a small round platform. Surrounding it were large stone pillars with fire lit on top of them. Beyond that were three large waterways going forward, to the right, and to the left. Beneath it all was water so clear, that it gave the viewer a perfect mirror image of them looking back at themselves.

Nero's footsteps echoed along the cavern as he walked along the walkway. He finally approached the circular platform, and got a good look at the seal. It was made of some kind of black stone. However, red lines pulsed intricately inward, that formed an "X" in the middle of it. The outline of the black Seal was illuminated with red light. In the very center of the circle was a small, ornate hole made of gold, which displayed a red light inside.

The young hunter knelt near the hole, and stared at it. This was the True Hell Gate's Seal. To unleash the demons for their grand plan, the Order had to use the key to open it. The key itself was none other than one of the Legendary Dark Knight's blades: the Dark O-Katana known as the Yamato.

Nero glanced at his Devil Bringer, and clenched it. Scoffing in disgust, he shook his head. Looking up, the former knight stared down into the darkness of the long cavern. He wondered what was inside, but figured that there was nothing but sewers.

Sighing he stood up. So far, there was nothing in there that was helpful in regards to the job. What was more unfortunate was that he was most likely going to get an earful from the others. A part of him hoped that they would not be there when he got back, but the thought was just wishful thinking.

"Guess this place is as empty as this whole stinkin' city," he remarked.

As he turned around, a whizzing sound came to his ears. Before he knew it, he felt something impale itself into his left hand. He cried out, as the pain registered in his mind. Nero lifted his hand, and winced at what he saw. Sticking through his hand, strangely, was a silver feather, made of entirely metal, that was now covered in his blood. The bottom tip of the feather pierced the skin.

Wincing, Nero easily pulled it out. He waited until his healing factor, an ability that was given to him three years prior, was finished closing the wound. His eyes then examined it closely.

_'Where the hell did this come from?'_

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of flapping wings. Looking over his shoulder with furrowed eyes, he watched as a silver blur flew over him. He could not immediately identify it, but it appeared to resemble an owl. He watched it fly off into the middle corridor and further into the cavern.

"What the _hell?_ " he whispered.

Unbeknownst to him, the blood in his hand began to drip down to the floor. Right underneath his hand, however, was the hole of the Seal. Blood droplets fell around the hole, before a few drops fell inside. The drops evaporated in seconds, but released blue demonic aura. The energy was all that was needed to activate the Seal's secondary function.

Nero squinted his eyes to look down the flooded tunnel, but was caught off guard when the floor beneath him began to glow a bright red. He covered his eyes with his Devil Bringer, continuously muttering "Shit" to himself as a humming noise went to his ears.

His eyes barely got a glimpse of the floor, and saw that the Seal's hole was shining red. But what really got his attention was that he was moving away from the platform, and moving towards the middle tunnel. The problem, though, was that his feet were not moving.

As he moved away from the light, he saw what was occurring. Somehow, the Seal generated an energy platform that hovered over the water. The entire platform was covered in red light, with the exact same pattern as the red lines on the Seal.

The hovering platform forced the demon hybrid down to his right knee, as he tried to register what was happening. When he realized what was going on, he was already too far to jump away.

Steadying himself to his feet, he pulled out the communicator and spoke to it. "Boss, come in! Dante, can you hear me?!"

His response was static. "Hello? Can anyone hear me? Trish, Lady! Can anyone respond?!"

Again, no one answered. " _Shit!_ " he cursed.

Sighing exasperatedly, he put the walkie-talkie back into his coat, and unholstered his gun. He and the hovering platform were moving in deeper into the tunnel.

_'Well, I did want to know what was down here,'_ he thought humorously.

As he was covered in darkness, the only light he could see was the blue glow of the Devil Bringer and the red light of the platform. The platform moved down the corridor for a few minutes. Surrounding him was the sound of rushing water. After a few minutes, Nero finally saw something ahead. It was a wall, but on its surface was a large emblem of the Order of the Sword. Arching an eyebrow, the former knight wondered about its purpose.

Then, the platform began to glow brighter. At the same time, the large emblem on the wall began to glow red. Then, a large rumbling sound was heard, as the wall was raised into the ceiling. Behind it, were two lit torches on the side of two walls. What was strange about the torches, however, was that the flames were blue.

The platform hovered into the corridor. Immediately, Nero could hear that the sound of the water was stronger, indicating that it was going downwards. His suspicions were proved to be right, when he felt his stomach churn as the platform descended forward.

His eyes widened when he heard the wall closing the entryway behind him. Nero was now trapped.

He did not know where this path lead to, but he knew one thing for certain.

"Dante's gonna _kill_ me."

* * *

**-Opera House-**

"I'm gonna _kill_ that kid."

Dante, Trish, and Lady stood before the large hole in the stage that led to the underground cavern. When they arrived, they had discovered the Nero had gone against the original plan, and went ahead. This greatly annoyed a certain red-clad devil hunter.

"That kid always follows directions. And the one time I needed him to do _just_ that, he _doesn't._ Should've seen this comin'," he sighed.

The blonde she-devil shrugged her shoulders prettily. "But then he wouldn't be the kid, would he?"

Dante only pouted in annoyance.

Sighing in frustration, Lady voiced out the next course of action. "Alright, which of you is gonna drop down there and get the elevator?"

Both women looked at Dante while the human devil hunter spoke. The man's frowned deepened.

"A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do," Trish quipped.

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered in a resigned tone.

* * *

**-Hidden Aqueduct-**

Nero was now sitting down on the platform, with his legs crossed, and the claws of his Devil Bringer slowly strumming on his knee. He had gotten tired of standing, and decided to wait it out until the ride was over. However, he made sure to have his gun on hand.

The platform's descent ended a few minutes prior, and the young demon hunter was now moving forward. He saw that the floating platform was now closer to the water below, but there was no light to ahead to tell him where he was heading; he could only see the blue flames lit on the torches in the walls.

His face had a bored expression on it, but deep down, he was actually curious at these turn of events. Nero surmised that wherever he was going had to be important, if his own Devil Bringer brought him on this hidden path. The former knight wondered whether or not the corridor was something that even the Order was unaware of.

And as he mused to himself, a thought suddenly came to his head. What if at the end of this path... Was the target himself?

Dante and the others were far away, which only meant one thing: Nero would have him all to _himself._

The determined hunter continued to sit down on the platform, as it floated forward.

He did not know how long he had been on the platform made of energy. To him, it felt like minutes, but perhaps he was wrong, and he'd been missing for hours? At one point, Nero rested his chin on his Bringer hand, with an unamused expression on his face. More minutes passed, and his eyes began to look tired.

But just before he decided to sleep, a light got the boy's attention.

It was rather small, but still visible in distance. Nero stood up, as the platform got closer to the light. When the platform did, he noticed that the surroundings had changed. The chamber that he was in now was wider than the corridor he was in a few minutes ago, but the blue flames along the wall were still visible. A large wall was in front of him, with pillars along it, and blue torches embedded on them.

The young man then felt the platform slow down, and he took it as his cue to stand up. The floating platform was approaching a stone dock, and Nero waited patiently for it hover above it. When it finally did, the demon hunter stepped off of the platform. As soon as he did, the platform shone with a bright red hue, before disappearing. The boy briefly glanced at it, before looking forward. Ahead, he saw some small stone steps that lead to the light, which was actually on the other side of a long corridor.

Tightly gripping his Blue Rose, Nero walked forward with caution. His footsteps echoed across the chamber, as his eyes remained focused on the path ahead. His eyes squinted as he got closer and closer to the light. Finally entered the next chamber.

And what he saw left him in complete awe.

**-Chamber of the Crystal-**

" _Whoa,_ " he whispered to himself.

Nero now found himself in a large circular room, that was dome shaped. But that was not what astounded him. Surrounding the entirety of the dome were large crystals of varying colors. Some were blue, others were red. Among the colors that caught his eye were green, orange, pink, silver, peach, and pearl. Each one stuck out in a tetragonal shape, with different lengths to each of them. What truly astounded him, however, was that the crystals seemed to emit their own light, which seemed impossible to him.

The young man's mouth slacked open in awe. He recalled having heard about something like this once when Patty was over. She was watching a program on the small T.V. back at the shop. Apparently this type of structure was called a "geode." They occurred in certain types of sedimentary and volcanic rocks, and were formed by chemical precipitation, or something like that. However, he knew that were no volcanoes on the island whatsoever. Which also made him wonder: how far underground was he?

He walked down the stone walkway, and looked at what was in the center of the room. Underneath the stone walkway, and around the room was running water. Along the dome were holes that let water rush in. Nero deduced that there must have been a tunnel under the water to let it out somewhere else, which was probably why the room was not flooded entirely.

Nero walked up the stone steps and moved along the stone platform. It was circular, and stood before a larger waterfall. The young man then noticed a large slab leaning at the top of a rectangular pedestal. Looking into it, he saw a rather interesting, yet confusing sight. On the top of the was the English alphabet, and the numbers 0 to 9. However, right before it were three words written in a strange manner, that he could not decipher. Looking down, he saw that there were different inscriptions lined up with the letters of the alphabet and the numbers. Looking at the side, he saw that there were three words in English, but found their meanings confusing. On the set below the English alphabet read "Cocoon," while below that read the word "Pulse." Underneath that was a word he did not understand: "Etro."

"What _is_ this? Some kind of _Rosetta Stone?_ " he questioned.

As he was about to examine the slab further, his Devil Bringer began to go off. He glanced at his arm as it pulsed continuously like a heartbeat. Furrowing his eyes, he looked up to see what had changed around him, but then saw something immediately. He was so fixated on the crystals surrounding him, he didn't see the one right in the middle of the chamber.

To his surprise was a large floating crystal that was colored blue. Unlike the geometrically shaped crystals along the walls, this crystal was more rigid, with multiple dents around it. However, the crystal gave off a bright blue light, that wrapped an eerie aura around it. The tips at the top and bottom of it were very sharp.

Nero's eyes were transfixed on the large crystal, as he approached it. The closer he got to it, the faster his right arm pulsed. Soon, he found himself standing before the large stone. The young man examined his arm. His blue skin shone as brightly as the crystal as he stood before it. Slowly, he curiously extended his Devil Bringer to it. He hesitantly stopped right before touching its surface, but after a few seconds, finally touched it with his claw.

Immediately, the crystal began to glow brighter. Nero covered his eyes and stepped away from the glowing crystal. Then, the blue crystal floated upwards. The demon hunter watched as it ascended upwards, and stopped a few meters above him. Suddenly, the crystals surrounding the room began to glow as the large blue one, shining in perfect synchronization. The young man then became nervous when he heard humming all around him. Finally, after a few agonizing seconds, the humming stopped.

The crystals then shot lasers that were aimed towards the large blue one. As more lasers penetrated the blue crystal, it shone even brighter than before, but with a white hue. After a whole fifteen seconds, the lasers stopped, while the larger crystal continued to levitate. Then the bright light subsided entirely. Nero then heard an even louder humming, and before he knew it, the blue crystal fired its own laser. The beam shot toward the larger waterfall, and what happened next shocked Nero. The energy from the beam hit the waterfall, but the energy it accumulated pulsed through the water. The color of the clear water changed into a hue of light green.

They boy's eyes furrowed, further when he saw that the water was morphing into a shape. He watched awe as the water formed the shape of a female figure that displayed up to the head and waist. The figure had some kind of headdress that let the hair flow wildly to the sides like the tails of a fish. Her arms were deformed, as it was missing a hand altogether. Examining it further, he saw that the fingers were actually chains with flailing limbs altogether.

The boy walked closer to the waterfall and stared at it in awe. Was this thing some kind of demon, and it merely displayed some fancy fireworks to announce its appearance? He tried to sense anything from the figure, but felt nothing. This told him that it was not alive.

Suddenly, he heard a familiar sound behind him: the sound of wings flapping. Quickly turning, he saw the silver blur from earlier flying towards him. Only this time, he got a better look at it. It actually was an owl, but something about it seemed off. The owl was silver to the point of being metallic. He saw that there were two black symbols on its wings, that resembled a bull's head when he saw it. Its talons were made of metal, and on its chest was a white face with its eyes closed. Two long strands of hair flowed down to its chest. What caught him off guard however, was how hollow its eyes were, like the lens of a camera.

Nero raised his Devil Bringer to protect himself. This proved to be a mistake, however, when the owl grabbed the red hood of his hoodie with its talons. The demon hunter hissed in shock, but was given no opportunity to retaliate. Against all logic, the bird continued flying forward, and dragged Nero into the air with it. Eyes widening, Nero tried to reach for his gun. It was too late, unfortunately, and before he could anything, he and the bird reached the large female figure. Right as they touched it, a bright light enveloped both of them. And after a brief flash, they were gone.

As soon as they left, the female figure lost its green color, and became water again. Gravity did its job, and formed a waterfall from the water comprising the figure. Meanwhile, the blue crystal silently floated down to its spot on the platform.

* * *

**-Boundary Beyond-**

" _AAAAAAAHHH!_ " screamed the young devil hunter, as he fell downwards.

Large rays of green light passed him and the bird by, as they continued to fall into an endless tunnel. Wind pushed against Nero's face, as both his hair, and the tail of his blue coat flailed wildly.

The bird let go of his hood, and flapped its wings. It then flew onward, with a speed that was faster than Nero's. He was so shocked by the present event, that he did not bother to take his gun out and fire at it.

"Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!" he cursed loudly, as he tried to recover in mid-air. However the force of the gravity pulling him gave him no respite.

After a few moments, Nero then saw a bright, white light below him. He was panicking as his body approached it. The closer he got to it, the more he was blinded.

When he finally reached it, the only thing he could see was white.

"Shit! Shit! Shit! _SHIT! SHIT! SHIIIT!_ " was the last thing he said, before the light completely enveloped him.

* * *

**-to be continued in the next mission-**

* * *

Mission 3: Starting Off on the Wrong Foot

Nero awakens in a beach, finding himself in a foreign town. He discovers that not only is he faraway from anything familiar, but has been spirited away to a new world. Nero finds himself in trouble with the local authorities, specifically a certain Sergeant. But even while traversing terra incognita, painful reminders of his past appear to him. He gazes at the sea, remembering what it is that he fights for.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to leave a comment, subscribe, and a kudos!


	4. Mission 3: Starting Off on the Wrong Foot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Revised on FF.Net: 3-30-15

 

* * *

**Mission 3: Starting Off on the Wrong Foot - The Seaside City of Bodhum**

* * *

**-Cocoon-**

**-The Seaside City of Bodhum - Outskirts-**

"Lightning to 'Daddy Bear.' I found the targets. It's just like we heard. I count at least five," a woman, Lightning, reported to into her earpiece.

" _Daddy Bear, here. I read you loud and clear. Can you handle them on your own?_ " came the voice of "Daddy Bear" on the other end.

Her eyes scanned the targets before her with complete focus. She could hear the monsters, the Bloodfang Bass, growling around her. They had the body of a fish, with silver scales over its torso, pectoral fins on its cheeks, and a dorsal fin on its back. A long tail followed each one, as their grey eyes just glared at her. Their limbs, however, were different from the body, as they were red, with webbed claws. Their hind legs were long legs that were used to jump, similar to those of a grasshopper.

She counted three in front of her, and two behind. _'I'm surrounded,'_ she mused to herself, not bothered by the situation presented before her.

She huffed, as the opposition was something she was capable of handling. "Just give me _two minutes,_ " she replied, before shutting off her communicator.

"Lightning" Farron wore a sleeveless, white overcoat, with a red cape attached behind her left shoulder, and a brown turtleneck shirt with a zipper. A green metallic pauldron with yellow stripes covered her left shoulder, while a long black sleeve covered her left arm. Two blue finger-less gloves, with golden bullet holders on the forehand, were on both of her hands. A pair of brown boots with gray straps was on her feet, while a red ammunition pack was strapped to her left thigh. She wore a brown mini-skirt over high-topped shorts, with a long black weapons case attached to the belt of her skirt. Her skin was very light, which allowed anyone during the day and night to see the pink color of her lips, and the pale aqua hue of her irises. Her most noticeable feature, however, was her rose colored hair that was combed to the right, with hair draped over her left shoulder.

She reached for the weapons case behind her, and pressed a button on her weapon. Instantly, the weapon slightly popped out of her case. Lightning used her finger to unfold a black handle. When she finally gripped it, she pulled out a gun that was as long as a rifle, with a long, silver, rectangular barrel, with a red guard over the trigger. However, the barrel was different, as it was an extended barrel. The woman pressed a switch on the handle, that made the barrel folded inwards, similar to the handles of a balisong knife. In between both sides of the barrel extended a curved, single-edged blade with three holes extended out. Black and red lines ran along the steel surface.

Swiping her weapon, a gunblade named Blazefire Saber, Lightning's body tensed, as she got into a fighting stance.

"Come on," she beckoned.

She listened to her instincts. The five Bloodfang Bass skittered around her slowly. The woman waited patiently; this was not the first time she fought this species of beasts. Every time one jumped to attack, they left themselves open to a strike.

She then saw an opportunity, when she heard sound to the right behind her. She then swung her Saber to the right, not even bothering to look over her shoulder. Lightning did not need to, as she felt her gunblade meet resistance with her swing; the Bloodfang Bass was fatally wounded. As quickly as she struck before, she repeated her attack by slashing to the left as fast as her namesake. The Saber sliced through the Bass' vitals, and the sound of it falling to the ground came to her ears.

Lightning then heard a screech approaching from behind. She sighed to herself silently, before making her next move. Quickly turning around, she gripped her blade tightly with both hands, and cut the beast in its stomach. Her attack was executed so quickly, that not one drop of the green fluids of its body got on her person.

_'Now, the only ones left are the two behind me,'_ Lightning told herself, as she planned her next course of action in her mind.

With a deep breath, she turned around to face the last two Bloodfang Bass, but was never given the chance. As soon as her eyes landed on the beasts, a gunshot rang in the air. One of the monsters' side burst open. It was not dead, but its green innards began spilling into the ground.

"We'll help!" shouted the voice of a woman. The sound of an air bike also whistled in the background.

_'You're_ not _helping; you're just getting_ in the way! _'_ Lightning mentally hissed, as she lowered her weapon.

"Yuj, go get 'em!" ordered the voice.

"Hang on tight! Here we _go!_ " replied another voice belonging to a young man, Yuj. "Lebreau, to the right!

The next second, a bullet penetrated the other Bass' head, and then another bullet pierced the previous one's stomach, thus ending the threat of the targets.

"Got it!" confirmed the woman, Lebreau.

The rose-haired woman blinked; the last shot was actually a good one, not that she would ever admit it. Her weapon shifted back into a gun, with the blade compressing back into the two halves of the barrel. The barrel extended back to its original form, before Lightning finally sheathed it back into its case. She then folded the black handle back into place.

Looking up at the new arrivals, the girl realized that the one who had fired the gun was sitting behind the other person, who was driving the air bike. The air bike descended towards her, before stopping a few feet away. This gave her a good view of its two occupants.

The one driving the vehicle was a young man, Yuj was his name if she heard the other voice right. He had feathery blue hair and hazel eyes. He wore an orange shirt with a subtle yellow gradient, a dark red, long-sleeved shirt underneath, as well as black leather pants and black leather boots. His pants had a bag on the right hip, which Lightning deduced was sewn into place. He had a scarf with feather adornments tucked into his belt, which seemed to be made up of multiple links of metal with a small pattern pressed into them. The young man also wore a necklace with a leather square that had the same patterns as the belt embossed upon it. He also had metal pendant over his clothing.

The one who had the gun was actually a woman her age, if not a few years younger, with shoulder length black hair, with a bun tied on top of her head, and brown eyes. She wore a white blouse loosely, with the lower part buttoned up, underneath a purple bikini top with a yellow band holding it together, with a silver pendant in the middle. She also wore brown leather bikini bottoms, while wearing a purple belt with half a yellow frilled skirt attached to the left side. Dark purple leggings hugged her legs, which were transparent over her knees. Red shoes with a small black heel covered her feet, and a rainbow bracelet was on her left wrist. Lightning realized that the girl showed off a lot of skin, as evident when she saw a light purple-blue tattoo of a butterfly on her right shoulder blade, where she rested the long black rifle.

However, each of the individuals were wearing civilian clothes, and had no gear that would protect them from these beasts if they were attacked head on.

_'They're just amateurs,'_ she analyzed.

Yuj sighed in relief. "Whew. Clean up complete."

Lebreau smiled at her. "Hey there, soldier. You were in a really tough spot, weren't you?"

The female soldier merely looked at her with a blank expression. "Who are you?" she asked bluntly; she tried to act cold and hard.

Her demeanor went unnoticed by the other woman. "We're _NORA,_ " she replied.

This made Lightning frown even further.

Lebreau looked at her with an amused expression. "You're with the GC's Bodhum Security Regiment, right? Surely you've heard a _few_ things about us, right?"

Lightning noticed that the girl's boast was rather confident. Where she got such bravado interested her, but she did not want to get involved with these two.

"Sorry. Never heard of you," she responded curtly, before turning her heel and walking away.

As she walked, she could her the girl speak in surprise. " _Really?_ "

"What? That's weird... I figured we'd be more famous than _that,_ " the boy muttered.

"Well, we're not doin' this for fame, Yuj. And that's fine," she told.

"Well, yeah, I know that. It's just not as fun when people don't know who we are..."

Their voices drowned out, as Lightning walked further away from them. She shook her head, and thought about how foolish they were for actually thinking that they had helped her. If anything, they had interfered with her mission. Seeing how proud they looked annoyed her, which was the only reason she had chosen to lie to them.

She had lied about her not knowing about NORA; she felt angry at herself for it. Lightning in fact knew a lot about NORA. Specifically, she knew that her younger sister, Serah, spent a lot of free time hanging out with them.

* * *

_"NORA is an acronym that stands for 'No Obligations, Rules, or Authority.' They own a shop here in Bodhum, but it's actually a cafe. Many locals and tourists are attracted to it. They actually grow their_ own food _there! And later, when there's trouble, they go help clean up monster infestations around the city."_

* * *

Lightning scoffed in disgust. "NORA, huh? You _amateurs_ actually think you're _heroes?_ "

**-Rendezvous Point-**

The soldier made it to the gathering point. All around her, soldiers, armed and unarmed, walked around after completing their objectives, while others praised her on a job well done as she passed by.

The female operatives wore a light beige overcoat, which was longer than Lightning's, that had a black leather strap across the midriff, with a black holster attached to it. A pistol was inside it. However, they each had gold badge of the Bodhum Security Regiment over their right breast. They wore a short sleeve, gray turtleneck underneath, and had transparent leggings on their legs, with black leather boots on their feet. Green shoulder pauldrons with two light yellow lines were on each shoulder. Their signature black hat was on each of their heads.

As she walked, a male operative walked towards her. He wore the standard men's uniform. The soldier had a gray, short sleeve shirt underneath a black and white overalls, that was underneath a light yellow, sleeveless vest, with black straps around the shoulders and across the waist. He wore a black belt with multiple packs around its length. Brown boots with gray straps were on his feet, while a pair of brown leather gloves were on his hands. On his shoulders were two light green pauldrons with two orange lines across them. The standard black leather cap was on his head.

The soldier addressed her as he caught up to her. "Another successful operation. Well done, Sergeant Farron!"

"Where's Lieutenant Amodar?" she asked, as she brushed off the praise.

The male operative pointed over to one of the unmanned vehicles. "He's chatting over there."

She could hear his loud laugh even as she stood fifty feet away. Seeing her superior, she walked over to him. As she got closer, however, she realized that he wasn't alone.

Lieutenant Amodar was a tall man, with an oval face and dark skin. He had short, spiky brown hair and a brown mustache on his face. He wore a white shirt with silver stripes underneath his white and blue jacket. Light brown straps went over his shoulders, and went around his stomach and legs. He had a bracer on his right arm, with two orange fluorescent stripes, which indicated his status as a Lieutenant within the Corps. His black and white pants had orange stripes at the sides. He also wore two green pauldrons with two orange stripes on them, and also wore metal boots on his feet.

The man next to him was also very tall, but was also very younger. He wore a black bandanna, which hid his light blonde hair underneath, and blue eyes. A stubble beard was on his chin, which was light blonde as well. He wore a long, short sleeve, beige trench coat, with a light blue vest under it, that also hid a black shirt. On his legs was a pair of dark gray pants, while a striped, blue scarf hung off of the belt on his waist. Black gloves were on his hands, and large gray combat boots were on his feet. A small, silver necklace, with two studded jewels was around his neck. It looked like a badge, but it had the picture of a cat around it. Lightning knew it as the logo of NORA, as Serah had explained previously.

Amodar laughed as he listened to the man's tale. "Surrounded by monsters, huh? So what did ya do after that?"

"Well, they just kept comin' and comin'!" the younger man told with a wide grin. "Then, all of our bullets ran out. At that point, all we could do was _punch 'em!_ "

Amodar shook his head. "You _dumbass!_ How many did you get after _that?_ "

"Hehe, there were, like, twenty of them, or more. Heck, there were too many to even _count!_ "

Lightning's lips dipped into a frown when she saw who the man was. "It's that guy..."

She approached the two, while the male operative followed her. Amodar was the first to welcome her.

"Ah, if it isn't the Commander! Good work today!" he greeted.

Lightning's rank was actually that of a Sergeant, and she knew that the Lieutenant knew this as well. This told her that Amodar was joking around with her, like always. She decided to retaliate, in her own way.

Raising an eyebrow sternly, she looked at her superior officer. "' _Commander?_ ' What sort of joke is this, ' _Lieutenant?_ '" she demanded, while putting emphasis on the word "Lieutenant."

He grinned. "Well, you _are_ the raid leader, right?"

Lightning shook her head in amusement, before looking at the other man. "So, who's this?"

The man in the bandanna blinked, as she gestured to him. "Huh? Who, me?"

The male soldier addressed him. "Oh, they're NORA, Sergeant. You haven't heard of them before?"

Lightning merely frowned. NORA again.

"They're a vigilante group made up of young people here in the city," Amodar explained, as he took her silence as a sign of her not knowing of the group. "This man here is their leader, Snow."

The man in the bandanna, Snow, waved at her. "Hey there!"

The Lieutenant then looked at the man. "This lady, here, is our raid commander. She's a little young, but she's _very_ good!"

He then pointed at Lightning's weapons case. "That weapon she's got there, the Blazefire Saber? That thing's a gunblade! You might not know this, 'cuz you're a civilian, but the Sanctum only gives those weapons out to soldiers with _amazing abilities._ Ain't that somethin'?"

"Is that right?" Snow replied.

The woman lightly blushed at the compliment. "Sir, can we _please_ not talk about this?"

Though she didn't want him to continue praising her abilities, she felt happy to hear them coming from Amodar. It pleased her to know that her superior officer held her in such high regard.

"And that Blazefire Saber is special," he continued. "It's even got a special inscription on it! How'd it go again? ' _White flash - Take on my name,_ ' or somethin' like that?"

_'It's '_ Invoke my name - I am Spark, _''_ she mentally corrected, though she would never say it out loud.

"Anyway, it's pretty much thanks to her that we managed to clean up the monsters here so quickly," Amodar explained.

"Wow! She must be pretty amazing, then!" Snow praised. The soldier ignored it.

"Your group still disappointed that there wasn't much of a catch for you guys, today?" the older man queried.

The leader of NORA shrugged. "Nah. After all, these aren't the _only_ monsters hiding around."

"That so?" Amodar asked.

"Yep. If we smoke 'em out, _more'll_ come running right after the other."

"Hey, I'm all for smoking them out, but just don't make _too_ much of a disturbance," he cautioned.

"Trust me. You guys won't have to worry about that," Snow assured.

"You guys sure are an energetic bunch, ain't ya?" Amodar grinned. "You and your group ever thought about joining the army?"

"Nah. Rules and uniforms don't really fit our style, y'know?" he dismissed.

The Lieutenant chuckled, as he shoved the young man playfully. "Hey, watch it! _We're_ the ones who gotta work with those rules and uniforms! Haha!"

Snow laughed at the man's antics, before sighing. "Well, since the monsters have been taken care of, we should really get going."

The other male soldier pointed to him jokingly, as he walked to his air bike nearby. "Hey, you guys better not get carried away, or anything. PSICOM's nothing like us, and they _won't_ overlook you if you get caught doing something like this."

Snow grinned dismissively as he sat on his air bike, and started it. "Don't worry," he assured, before pumping his fist in the air. " _The army's no match for NORA!_ "

The motor came to like, as his red air bike's engines turned on. Dust kicked up around it, as it got ready to leave.

"Well, _I'm off!_ " he called as he was about to leave.

However, a voice stopped him. " _Wait._ "

Looking to the right, he saw that the rose-haired soldier, Lightning she was called, was approaching him.

"Snow, is it?" she asked.

"Yeah. What's up?" he asked, as he shut off his air bike.

Lightning's eyes narrowed at him. "You're the one that's been following my sister around, lately."

Snow blinked. "Uh, your sister?"

She frowned. "Serah Farron."

As soon as she finished talking, Snow's eyes shot open in recognition. " _OH!_ " He then quickly got off of his bike, and walked towards the soldier.

"Ah, so _you're_ Serah's sister!" he realized, as he examined her. "Yeah... Serah _did_ say that her sister was a soldier. Both of your faces look so similar... But you look so _different_ at the same time."

The soldier crossed her arms, looking back at Snow with serious eyes as he continued to look at her with his hands on his hips. "You know, when I first saw you, I _kinda_ thought that it might be you. Guess I was right."

He then grinned."Well, it's nice to meet you at last! I'm Snow Villiers," he greeted. " _I'm gonna help you take care of Serah._ "

The man then extended his right hand to her. Lightning's frown then dropped into a scowl, as she saw his smile.

" _Stay away from Serah._ "

Snow blinked once. He then looked at his hand, and saw that she still had not taken it. His eyes then looked back at hers, which stared back at him with a hardened glare. He then looked back at his hand again, and then to her eyes.

Snow's grin faltered. "Wait... _What?_ "

Her glare didn't budge an inch. "I said _stay. Away. From my sister._ "

With that, she turned her heel, and walked away. Serah had told her that she had hung out with the group, and mostly spoke about a man named Snow Villiers. The man looked almost as old as her, which was two years older than Serah's nineteen-year-old self. And from his conversation with the Lieutenant, she could already tell what kind of man he was. He was brash, arrogant, chummy, brutish, and...

"And if I _didn't?_ "

...Stupid.

Lightning stopped walking, as if wondering if she had actually heard those words come out of his mouth. To her irritation, he actually repeated it.

"So if I _don't_ stay away? Then what?" he challenged softly.

Turning around, she gave him a hard glare that was only reserved for her enemies.

"Then I _make you,_ " she explained with finality, while cracking her fingers for emphasis.

The leader of NORA, however, only chuckled in response; she realized he was also stubborn. "Sorry, but even punching me's not gonna work. I'm _kinda_ hard-headed, you see."

With that, he walked back to his air bike, and started it again. After a few seconds, dust kicked around him and the vehicle. Finally, the air bike floated off of the ground, and took off into the air.

The soldier's feet was rooted to the spot, as she glared at the man's back as he flew away. Her fists were clenched tightly, as she felt furious over her failed attempt to dismiss the man. Whether he liked it or not, he was not going to get involved with her sister, or her sister's goals of going to university next year.

She would make sure of that, one way or the other.

The voice of the male soldier interrupted her thoughts. "Hey, Sergeant. Do you know that guy?"

Taking in a deep breath, she turned on her heel, and walked past him and Amodar. "No, I _don't._ Lieutenant, I'm heading back to base."

Lieutenant Amodar only watched her with an amused look. "Well. Looks like the Commander is in a bad mood, tonight. Guess she doesn't seem to think too much about the heroic kids."

The female soldier stopped briefly. She said nothing for a moment, before speaking. "Lightning to 'Daddy Bear.' Mission _Accomplished._ Returning to base."

Amodar shook his head, before responding. "'Daddy Bear.' Understood."

At that, Lightning walked away, with eyes forward and her thoughts to herself.

Though, had she, or anyone else, been looking out to the sea, she would have seen the brief, yet bright, green flash over it.

* * *

**-Cocoon Sea-**

Nero was at the brink of consciousness as his body fell into the water. Bubbles escaped from his nostrils as he sunk deeper.

However, he stopped sinking after a few meters. Slightly opening his eyes, he could see his silver hair flailing slowly, while beyond that was a blurry white light.

He could feel his body floating upwards. But by then, he was too tired to keep his eyes open. As he ascended to the surface, the light began to glow brighter. Slowly, he raised his Devil Bringer, and reached for the light. It shone brightly, to the point of blinding his vision.

Then, all he could see was darkness.

* * *

**-Nuova Fortuna - Beach - Two Years Prior-**

_"Do you ever wonder what it would have been like?"_

_Nero blinked, as he turned to face her. "Excuse me?"_

_"Do you ever wonder what it would have been like... If the island_ hadn't _been overrun with demons like it was?"_

_Nero and Kyrie were sitting down on a beach, as they had finally found time for themselves. The previous weeks were strenuous, as all of the survivors of Fortuna had found a new island to inhabit, that they named Nuova Fortuna. Thanks to the remaining knights, they were able to amass enough wood to build new houses. They had actually made significant progress._

_This day was the day that the annual Festival of the Blade was held. Since they did not have the proper means to celebrate it, the community had decided to give all the workers a day to rest and regain the bearings._

_Nero had decided to take Kyrie on a picnic to the beach. Even though the sun and his skin did not get along well, he felt that the date would mean a lot to his girlfriend. Fortunately, Kyrie had found some shade by the trees, and decided to set their red, plaid blanket there._

_He sighed, as he looked at her. Today, Kyrie had decided to not tie her hair into a ponytail, and let her hair hang loose. She wore a white sundress, with white slippers on her feet._

_"Well... For one thing, we wouldn't have to work as hard as we do now. We'd actually_ have _a solid foundation to start with," he admitted._

_She giggled at him. "That's true, I suppose."_

_The couple then sat silently, as the sounds of the waves lapping onto the ground hit the shore. The wind softly blew into their faces, and rustled the trees above them._

_"Nero... Have you ever had a dream?"_

_The former knight blinked, as the question registered into his head. "Huh? Where'd_ that _come from?"_

_She shrugged. "I'm just curious."_

_The young man rubbed his chin with his right hand. "A dream, huh?" He hummed to himself in thought, before shrugging. "Sorry. I've never really thought about that."_

_Her brown eyes dipped sadly, before looking away. "I see."_

_Something was up. So he pried further. "What about you?_ You _ever had any dreams?"_

_The former Songstress was silent for a few moments. "No... At least, not_ anymore. _"_

_Nero's eyes furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"_

_"It's just... In my heart, I_ had _dreams. But now... All that's left are_ regrets. _"_

_The man silently gasped._

_"No, it's nothing_ you've _done. You've done absolutely_ nothing _wrong," she assured. "Only... The regrets I have are of what happened back in Fortuna."_

_Nero's eyes dipped sadly. He knew what she was referring to. "You're talking about_ Credo, _right?"_

_Kyrie nodded. "I just... I wished to live happily with both of you. To live, and spread joy, and to help people with_ both of you _at my side." She paused. "But, it was not to be..."_

_Nero frowned. "Kyrie. What happened to Credo and Fortuna was not because of anything_ you _did._ No one _could have foreseen what was going to happen."_

_She smiled faintly. "I know that. But... I suppose I just regret how it all happened."_

_The former knight looked at her, and said nothing. He knew that she was still shocked about what had happened. But even then, he swore to give her something to keep her going in this time of turmoil._

'Dreams, huh?'

* * *

**-Day 3-**

**-Cocoon-**

**-The Seaside City of Bodhum - Outskirts Beach-**

The first thing he could hear was the sound of overlapping waves, and seagulls in the distance.

Nero's eyes opened slowly, squinting as the sun's rays fell to his eyes. He saw a clear blue sky, with clouds above him. He sat up, groaning as he felt sand on his hands, and falling off of his clothes. Rubbing his eyes, he looked out into the stretch of water before him. After a few minutes, the devil hunter finally regained enough will power to get up to his feet.

The young man rubbed his head in thought, as he tried to recall the last thing he could remember. He remembered that he went to the Hellgate's Seal, and investigated it. The series of events that followed ended up with him finding that large crystal room. Then that big blue crystal fired that beam, and that huge figure appeared. Next, that owl flew in out of nowhere, and dragged him to the large figure. Before he knew it, he found himself falling down. After that, he blacked out.

He audibly groaned, as he reached for the portable communicator in his coat pocket. If he was lucky, then he was probably somewhere else on the island.

Nero pressed the button, and spoke. "Boss, this is Nero. Come in-"

As soon as he pressed it, a spark inside the walkie-talkie went off. After five seconds, smoke came out of it. Nero stared at useless device, noticing that it was wet. The irritated young man threw his arms in the air, realizing that the communicator had short-circuited.

"Great," he hissed, before throwing the communicator onto the sand. " _JUST_ FREAKIN _'_ _GREAT!_ "

Gritting his teeth in frustration, Nero ran his hands through his hair, while looking up at the sky. What he saw though, caused his mind to stop for a brief moment.

"What... In the _hell...?_ "

His arms fell to the sides, as he stared at the large structure that reached up to the clouds. The tower was long, with four spires surrounding it, and smaller spires coming out of them. Two larger spires stretched out from both sides near the top, and had large chains underneath them. He could see a smaller structure at the top, with two spires jutting out from beneath it. What astounded him most was that floating in front of it was this blue figure, that seemed to have a pair of blue, transparent, butterfly-esque wings, as well as a tail. Squinting his eyes, it looked like it had a female face with a large headdress. From that figure came out long lines of blue energy, that flailed in front of it like a shield.

Nero blinked twice, with his jaw slacked open. He scratched his head with his Devil Bringer in confusion, as he tried to discern his location.

" _Okaaay_ ," he mused. "Pretty sure we never had anything like that in Fortu...na..."

His voice trailed off, as he looked out into the distance, and was expecting to see the horizon, like he thought he saw earlier. However, he saw no horizon. In fact, he saw no blue sky. Looking up, he saw the sea stretch upwards. And what surprised him, was there was land on the other side of the sea. Looking further, he noticed small lights on the land. Looking directly above him, he finally saw a blue sky and the sun. What was out of place, however, was the white floating object in the sky.

"What... In... _The hell...?_ "

The devil hunter placed his left hand on his face before dragging it down. _'Alright... First thing's first. I gotta find out where I'm at.'_

Nero decided to look to the right, and saw the shoreline end, with a large expanse of water beyond it. Looking to the left, however, gave him a different result. In the distance, he could spot a small city. It was easily visible, due to the large silver building that stood above it.

_'A city!'_ he thought in joy. _'A city means civilization. A civilization means people! And people means...'_

The former knight paused, as his eyes fell onto his Devil Bringer. _'And people means people getting freaked out by my ugly arm.'_

Sighing, he knew that the solution was simple. He merely had to wrap his arm around with the black athletic tape in his pocket, and then wear his red glove. He reached into his left pocket, and reached for his roll of tape.

The boy frowned when he _did not_ feel his roll of black athletic tape.

Pulling his hand out, Nero saw that he held his red finger-less glove. The boy then patted down his entire body, hoping that he had simply misplaced it. Realizing that his clothes were partly wet, as well as the useless communicator malfunctioning due to water damage, he deduced that he had somehow landed into the sea when he was unconscious. Before he washed ashore, the black tape must have floated out of his pocket.

"So I have a glove, with no tape to go with it... _Swell,_ " he muttered.

Sighing, Nero then choose to do the next course of action. He put the red glove over his right hand, and then pulled down the right sleeve of his coat to cover his arm. He also rolled up the cuff at the end to cover his forehand. He looked at his arm with satisfaction. So long as he did not attract too much attention to himself, or display his right hand for all to see, he would be fine.

"Alright, Nero," he said to himself. "Let's go do some explorin'."

Nero began his trek down to the city, hoping that he could, at least, find a new sling and black athletic tape for a cheap price.

* * *

**-Farron Residence-**

An alarm clock rang across the empty house. A slender hand slapped the snooze button to turn it off.

Lightning sat up on her bed, stretching her arms over her head. She then got off of her bed, and walked out of her room.

When she had went to sleep the previous night, she had taken off most her gear, and her overcoat to go to sleep. The woman walked down the corridor, with her arms, shoulders, legs, and feet bare. She only wore her brown mini-skirt and her turtleneck shirt, which only covered the top part of her torso, and exposed her midriff and the navel piercing on her belly button as well.

She walked down into her kitchen, which was very wide. In the middle was a large orange table, with triangular patterns on it, and four round chairs with red leather seats on it. To her right was a counter with a silver, round shelf above it, and a sink on the far end. The ceiling was round, with many windows which were transparent enough to let light in. On the other end of the kitchen was a plasma T.V. that was currently reporting the news.

"Serah?" she called out loud. She was met with silence. "So she left early, huh?"

Lightning looked around the room, before spotting something out of place. On the the table was a pot that was covered by a lid. On top of it was a note with "Lightning" written on top of it. Curiously taking it, the woman looked at it, and read it.

_Dear Sis,_

_I left early today, so I made some stew in the pot you see before you._

_Heat it up, and eat it when you're hungry. Just make sure you don't burn the pan again like_ last time _, okay?_

_-Serah-_

The Farron sister smiled at her little sister's note. "Alright then. I'll be careful."

Taking the pot in her hands, she took to the counter, and followed the note's instructions. A few minutes later, she was already eating.

Lightning put the spoon in her mouth, savoring the flavor of her sister's dish.

_'It's funny,'_ she thought to herself. _'Whenever Serah makes food, it tastes_ exactly _as if Mom made it. But whenever_ I _make something, I can_ never _get it to be like your dishes, can I Mom?'_

The girl closed her eyes, as she recalled those last days with her mother. Right before her illness took a turn for the worse.

* * *

**-Bodhum Hospital - Six Years Prior-**

_"There will be a lot of things you will need to do from now on. Not just cooking alone."_

_A younger Lightning, back when she went by her true name, sat on the side of her mother's death bed. The doctor had called them, and said that if she had one more fit, she may not recover from it. Both Farron sisters had visited her, not knowing if it was the last time that they would. Her mother had sent Serah off, asking the younger sister to bring back some fruit. The young twelve-year-old complied, leaving Lightning alone with her mother. Hearing her words, she had realized why._

_The older woman, who had rose-colored hair like her daughters, warmly looked at her daughter with her pale aqua eyes. "But you know... You don't_ have _to do everything by yourself, either. I'm sure there are a lot of things that Serah can help you with," she assured._

_"But, Mom..." she protested, but stopped, as the sick woman reached out with her hand, and stroked her hair softly, as if she were a small child again. She withheld the urge to cry._

_"'_ You cute, little, spoiled girl,' _" her mother said. "Your father and I used to call you that_ all _the time, you know. Right before Serah was born."_

_Lightning's father had died ten years prior. He was a soldier working for the Sanctum, and was killed in action._

_"I didn't know that..."_

_"You were only three at the time. When Serah came, you became the big sister, so we couldn't just call you 'little' anymore," she laughed._

_Lightning remained silent. She could hear the pain that was hidden in the laugh._

_"After your father died, you were always around to give me a hand with things, weren't you?" she asked. "You were always there watching over Serah, too... You're such a good sister. That's why I'm not worried about Serah. Because I_ know _you'll be there to care for her when she needs it."_

_"But at the same time..._ Serah _will be there for_ you _, too," she continued. "She'll be able to help you when you're hurting, and give you strength when you need it."_

_She brought Lightning's head closer to her; closer than she had ever been before._

_"Don't try to do everything on your own..._ My cute, little, spoiled girl... _"_

* * *

**-Present-**

" _'Don't do everything on my own,'_ huh?"

Lightning had been so lost in her thoughts, that she hadn't realized that she had already finished her meal, taken a shower, and changed into her uniform.

Sighing to herself, she thought about the last words her mother had given directly to her. "I guess I let her help me with cooking, seeing that all of my dishes almost _always_ burn up. Serah's are always better, for some reason."

But deep down, she knew that the reason why Serah's dishes were always better was because she had practiced by herself when Lightning was off working. The soldier frowned, as she wondered how much effort Serah had managed to do on her own these last few years.

Serah cooked on her own, and spent more time with people like her nowadays. She had finished high school, with straight A's no less. Next year, she was going to attend Eden University in the Capital City of Eden to pursue a degree in History. And... She had somehow found company in the form of Team NORA.

As Lightning exited her house, her lips pursed at the thought of the man from yesterday, Snow Villiers. She was not blind; judging by how Serah spoke fondly about him, and vice versa, she knew that there was something going on between the two. From first glance, she could already tell that he was not the kind of man that she wanted her sister to be with. She was not an unrealistic person; Lightning knew that Serah would probably have feelings for another person someday. The soldier was not overprotective to the point of chasing off any person interested in her younger sister. She would be fine with anyone, so long as they were capable of protecting Serah from harm.

Snow Villiers was _not_ capable of that.

The man was brash, and ran off into danger blindly. He did not think things through, and only made decisions on instinct. If Serah and him were ever in any danger, he would be the type of man to _save himself_ and _leave_ Serah on her own.

He was not the right man for her, she knew. However, she was not going to tell her sister that. Knowing Serah, she would try to reason with her, until she convinced Lightning to give him a chance.

Then, Lightning wondered if her parents would have given their permission for Snow to see their daughter. Lightning knew that her father was a soldier, but he tended to be as easy-going and good-natured as Snow. Her mother would have probably allowed it if she believed that Serah really _did_ have feelings for him.

After all, her mother _had_ married her father, hadn't she?

It was up to her, then. She had to make sure that Snow got the message to stay away from her sister. And after a while, she would explain to Serah the truth of the situation. A Grade-A student and an unemployed fool could not mix.

Snow would stay away from her sister. _Whether he liked it or not_.

* * *

**-Shopping Mall-**

" _What... In... The... Hell...?_ "

Those words came out Nero's mouth, after a few seconds of seeing a group of young individuals riding air bikes.

Because as far as he knew, there were _no such things_ as _air bikes_ , or bikes that could _fly_.

He had found a road along the beach that had lead to the city. As he approached, he saw that many civilians were giving him odd looks, to his displeasure. He figured that it was due to the fact that his clothes were different from theirs. He noticed that many of the civilians wore types of clothing that he was not familiar with. Some wore shirts, pants, shorts, or other basic attire. Some women also wore clothes that showed off their midriff and skin. What struck him odd, however, was that there were men who did this as well.

As he got deeper into the city, more people began to ignore him and go about their business. More people walked about, with them going into restaurants, houses, or other small buildings. He saw that some of the houses were stacked on top of each other, which he thought was odd. He even saw some signs that were written in an odd language he couldn't understand. Overall, the entire town gave off a seaside resort feel, which was odd considering its large size. He saw many pools of clear water, which were only meant for show, as well as many empty round tables with chairs around them.

Finally, he had arrived at some outdoor shopping mall. People mingled with each other, as they entered random shops. Some stores sold clothing, and were brightly colored on the inside. Others sold accessories, and displayed them in glass cases. He felt lost, as he found himself in this large, yet closed down space.

Oddly, he saw two girls walking about the area, looking just as lost as he was. One wore a blue sari with a back halter top underneath, had tan skin, and dark brown colored hair. The other one wore a light pink halter top, with multiple bracelets on her wrists, beads lined down her torso, and bright red colored hair that was tied into two pigtails.

Nero was walking in the middle of the cramped space, when he saw the air bikes that stopped his brain for a few seconds.

Nero regained his composure, but briefly debated with himself. Finally coming to a conclusion, he merely shook his head while laughing to himself. The young hunter reasoned that he was merely seeing things, due to being out in the sun for too long.

The devil hunter walked deeper into the shopping mall, when he saw another sight that left him in disbelief. A few feet away was a small shop, that was displaying monitors. However these were not regular monitors, like T.V. sets, or even plasma T.V.'s. There were no wires connected to them, either. These monitors were floating, while at the same time being slightly transparent.

The boy approached one of the screens, and examined it closely. He slowly reached for it with his left hand, and his jaw slacked in awe as his fingers went through the screen. It caused the image on the screen to become blurry.

A male voice behind him spoke out. "Hey, _pal!_ I'm watchin' that!"

The boy took his hand out of the way, and continued onward silently. After the new development, he had come to the center of the mall, where a large fountain was. He found an empty bench that was near another, larger floating monitor, and sat down to collect his thoughts.

"Okay, Nero," he breathed. "Think this through. You're just _imagining_ things. There's _no way_ you could have seen a flying bike, _or_ a holographic television screen. That type of tech _doesn't exist,_ yet. The only way you would've been able to see that is if..." The anxious devil hunter breathed heavily. "Is if you somehow ended up in the _future..._ Which is _impossible,_ right?"

Just as he finished that last thought, he heard the screen nearby, as a weather forecast was being reported.

" _Thanks for the report, Aoede. And now for today's forecast,_ " reported a female weather analyst. " _Today's local forecast is gonna be_ sunny, sunny, sunny! _So if any of you Bodhumites are worrying about bad weather for today,_ don't _! We're seeing blue skies, and perfect temperature this weekend, just in time for the Annual Fireworks Festival next week! Worldwide, however, other cities aren't so lucky. We've got a couple of rain showers hitting Nautilus Park this weekend, so anyone travelling there may be_ out of luck _. Euride Gorge will be slightly cloudy tomorrow, but there should be no problems for anyone planning to go this weekend. Both the Capital City of Eden and Palumpolum will be windy tomorrow, so anyone going out should be sure to hold their belongings_ tightly _. This is Nia Ezra, with today's weather forecast, wishing you a safe day here in our wonderful world of Cocoon._ "

Nero's eyes shot up, as soon as the report finished. "I _hate_ _it_ when I'm right."

Hearing the phrase "world of Cocoon" started the gears in his head. So he was right about not being in the future. However, after listening to that report list out the names of cities he had never even heard of, he came to an even worse conclusion: Nero was not in his world anymore. He was now in an alternate Earth, or another world entirely. The boy hated the theory, but it seemed plausible as he recalled that the word "Cocoon" was on that Rosetta Stone back in the Crystal Cave. He also realized that the words written on it were written in the exact same way as the signs around him. Unfortunately he had not bothered to memorize the text.

The young man leaned forward as he placed his hands in his face. "This is not happening... This _cannot_ be fucking happening..."

This was not how things were supposed to go. He was supposed to be back in Fortuna, while helping Dante and the others finish the mission. He was supposed to finally get the chance to eliminate _him,_ not be in another world far away. He did not even know how he was going to get back. Many thoughts troubled Nero at once, as he felt fury, embarrassment, and a sliver of despair. If he had only followed Dante's orders, he would never have found himself in the current situation.

The lost demon hybrid slumped back into the bench, as he let the reality of what had transpired sink in. His eyes looked on, as the water coming from the fountain flowed into the pool below. Nero's eyes lazily fell onto his right hand, which he noticed was still exposed.

Coming to a decision, Nero took a deep breath. "Baby steps, Nero," he encouraged himself. "First thing's first. You gotta get your arm covered up."

Looking around, he tried to see if he could find a medical store nearby. It was difficult, due to many of the signs being written in Cocoon Text. Fortunately, he noticed that there was a little shop a good distance to the right. There was a sign in front that he could not read, but judging by the Unicorn Mascot wearing a white doctor's coat, the store sold medical supplies.

"Baby step. But I'll take it," he muttered, as he got off of the bench and moved towards the store.

* * *

Lightning walked along the fountain, as she examined the area. She usually walked around aimlessly before reporting for work, and today, she had found herself in the Shopping Mall. The soldier felt it was a good idea, since she was scheduled to patrol the area during the Fireworks Festival the next week. And since she was off-duty, she had a good amount of time to memorize the area.

"Ah! If it isn't Sergeant Farron!" called a voice.

Turning towards the voice, she saw that the male soldier from yesterday was approaching her.

"Doing some shopping, Sergeant?" he inquired.

She shook her head. "No. I'm just running a preliminary security check. This is my assigned patrol area for the Fireworks Festival next week, so I thought it was a good idea to be familiar with it."

The man nodded in understanding. "That makes sense. No offense, Sergeant, but you don't really look like the type of person that would go out shopping before reporting to duty."

His statement did not sit right with her. "Is that so? And just what kind of person do you _think_ I am, soldier?"

The man only grinned, failing to notice the stern tone of her voice. "Well, that's simple. You're our _raid leader,_ Sergeant. And we're _all_ proud to serve under you, ma'am."

The let out an amused sigh, before responding. "Then as your raid leader, soldier, I am ordering you to _stop wasting time here chatting._ Don't you have a post that you need to return to?"

"Yes, Sergeant! _Right away!_ " he saluted, before hurrying off to his post.

The Sergeant waited for him to be out of sight, before returning to her walk. She moved near a jewel shop, while thinking about what the man had said. The woman felt that her fellow soldier was correct, but sometimes she would window shop when she walked around town on her own. However, she never bought anything that she did not feel she needed. In actuality, shopping was something she felt that Serah was more accustomed to, due to her age. In fact, the last time she was at the Shopping Mall, Serah had accompanied her. But that was a long while ago.

Her thoughts then went back to her 19-year-old sister, and how much they had drifted apart over the last few years. Serah would probably go out shopping with her friends in her free time, while Lightning was always working. She knew that the time she spent with her sister would become shorter when she joined the Guardian Corps. But a part of her hoped that she would eventually find time as she rose up the ranks. However, the plan backfired, and now she spent even less time with her sister, and more time working.

Serah was in middle school when she enlisted, and Lightning knew that adolescence was a very trying time in a person's life. To her regret, the younger Farron sister had to go through it alone. The girl had probably worried about high school drama, her relationships with others, and other personal problems. And when she wanted to ask her sister for advice, Lightning was nowhere to be found. Serah's inquiries were left unanswered by the empty void that the soldier left when she went off to her duties.

Lightning felt guilty about her absences. Serah probably hung out with NORA as a means to satisfy the emotional needs that she had failed to support her with. Serah had ran off to that show-off Snow, because Lightning had failed to be there for here.

Frowning, Lightning continued to wander aimlessly, as her mind played with scenarios that could rectify her problem. She needed to reconnect with Serah, but she did not know how.

Then, a loud voice interrupted her thoughts. "Would you like to buy a Chocobo for your son there, ma'am? Here, have a look."

Blinking, Lightning looked to her left, and saw a wooden Chocobo stand. All around it were small cages. Inside them were little Chocobo Chicks, which were small birds that had round bodies, round heads, little wings, and orange beaks and talons. The feathers covering them varied with color, as some had a red, blue, black, green, purple, silver, or gold color to it. Selling them was man wearing an apron, and a flamboyant Chocobo cap.

The potential customers were a mother and her son. The mother was light-skinned, with light bluish-green eyes and shoulder-length platinum-colored hair. The woman wore a cotton, ivory wraparound sweater with off-shoulder sleeves, and beige capri pants on her legs, while brown leather wedge sandals were on her feet. She wore a simple necklace, with a brown braided lace, and a silver pendant hanging from it.

The son was as light-skinned as his mother, and had her platinum hair and bluish-green eyes. He wore a short-sleeve orange and yellow jacket over a black shirt. On his hands were a pair of black gloves with white palms on them. There was a yellow wristband tied around his left wrist, which was right above his left glove. He also wore deep green pants, with a black storage pack hanging from the black leather belt around his waist, while a pair of beige shoes. He wore a green neckerchief, with black detailed lines over his neck.

He seemed to be fourteen-years-old, which was not too far from when Lightning had lost her mother. She also noticed that the mother and son were as close as she and her sister used to be.

The salesman continued with his pitch, as he gently held a golden Chocobo in his hand. "Well, ma'am? Look at this little Chocobo! Ain't it the _best?_ "

The Chocobo Chick chirped at the woman happily, which made her giggle. "My, it's _cute_!"

The boy next to her frowned in slight embarrassment. "Mom, you actually _like_ those things?"

"Of course!" she responded. "After all, you used to like them too. You'd always go ' _Mommy, Mommy! Can you buy a Chocobo for me? Please, please, please?_ ' whenever we saw one!" she laughed.

"And when was the _last_ time you saw that happen?" he deadpanned.

The woman rubbed her chin in thought. "It wasn't too long ago, actually... I think I saw you do that about ten years ago."

The boy groaned.

"Well, Chocobos weren't as popular back _then_ as they are _now_ ," the salesman told. "Nowadays, they're sold out in _any_ place that sells 'em! We even have another shop at Euride getting a new shipment today, because they ran out _yesterday_! But just for you two, if you buy one _now_ , I'll give you a discount."

The mother shook her head. "Thank you, but I'm afraid we can't. We're actually on vacation right now, so it wouldn't be a good idea."

It was when she heard the word "vacation" that the idea came to Lightning.

"Right... That's it... Me and Serah could go an a _vacation_ ," she whispered.

The plan was a favorable one. She could request for some time off, and spend it visiting places with Serah. That way, Lightning would be able to make up for the time that she had not spent with Serah. It would not make up _all_ of the time that was wasted, but would be enough to reconnect with her sister, and get Serah's mind off of Snow. Lightning's birthday was in the following week, so she would tell Serah of her plans then.

Lightning silently thanked the mother and son, as she watched them walk away from the stand.

She was about to report to base, but stopped when something else caught her eye. Walking towards a Unicorn Mart outlet was a man with platinum hair wearing a long blue coat. What caught her attention, though, was that the man had a large sword sheathed on his back. It was suspicious to her. Robberies had been reported before in the Shopping Mall, but most people usually hid their weapons. Letting the man go unsupervised was unwise, especially if the threat of an armed robbery was present.

Deciding to plan her vacation after work, Lightning made her way towards the small shop.

* * *

**-Unicorn Mart-**

A small chime entered his ears, before hearing the male clerk cheerfully greeting him with "Hi there! Welcome to Unicorn Mart!"

"Yeah, whatever," Nero greeted. "Listen, do you guys sell arm slings and athletic tape?"

The clerk typed into the monitor, which was actually a computer screen rooted to the counter, and smiled at him. "We actually do! Just go all the way down to the second-to-last aisle to your right. It's at the very end."

"Yeah, thanks."

" _Glad to be of service!_ "

The young man walked away from the counter, unaware of the clerk curiously staring at the sword on his back. Nero made his way down to the second-to-last aisle.

He frowned. "Tch. Unicorn Mart..."

Walking all the way down to the end of the aisle, Nero's eyes scanned through the racks of items. He spotted what seemed to be bandage boxes, judging by the cover. Looking closely, he finally found a box with an arm sling picture on it.

When he grabbed the box, he heard the entrance chime go off again, which told him that someone else had entered the shop.

Scanning the racks, he finally spotted a box of black tape. The young devil hunter examined it closely. He sighed in relief, when he saw that there as a picture of a person sticking the tape around his arm, which told him that it was an adhesive tape.

Glad that he had what he needed, Nero held both items with his left hand, while sticking his right hand in his pocket to avoid attention. He made it out of the aisle, and visibly frowned. Three people were in the paying line, which meant he could not just leave right away. Groaning, he took his place at the end of the line.

Lightning stood near the doorway, arms crossed as she looked at the man. He had walked out of the aisle and had gotten in line. The soldier examined his body language, and noticed that he was tense. She surmised that he was in a hurry, and wanted to leave as soon as possible. Or perhaps he was mentally preparing himself for his robbery. Internally, she surmised that he was no professional, considering that he was about to make the mistake of robbing a store without concealing his face.

Then his eyes meet hers. He looked away briefly, but then looked back with his blue yes. Lightning had a tendency to stare at others when she was focused enough on something, and the young man must have caught her doing that.

Nero's eyebrow arched as he examined her. She had pale aqua eyes that stared at him intently. Her hair, to his surprise, was rose-colored, which he thought was unnatural. He then amended himself, when he remembered that his own hair was the unnatural color of platinum.

Nero then saw that the woman staring at him was wearing a uniform that was similar to one he had seen on the way to the mall. It belonged to two individuals who were arresting a man who was drunk in public. This told him that she was part of the local law enforcement. Seeing this, his eyes narrowed to glare at hers. He did not know why she was watching him, but she was watching him regardless. He was going to make sure she knew he was doing the same.

Lightning's eyes matched his shortly. She was unfazed at his glare. Something about him was unnerving, and the way he glared at her annoyed her. He was silently challenging her with his glare, and she would respond to it with a glare of her own.

The stare-off went on for a good while, with neither taking their eyes off the other.

"Uh, sir? It's _your_ turn."

Nero blinked, and looked in front of him. The other customers had already left, and there was nobody between him and the counter.

Nero looked back at the woman. His eyes widened slightly when he saw the satisfied look in her eyes. With a final snort in her direction, he then walked towards the counter.

"Just these two, please," Nero requested.

The clerk kindly took it, and ran the items through a scanner. After typing into the computer, he smiled at Nero. "Okay. That'll be 10 gil, please."

Nero nodded. "Sounds about right."

The young hunter then reached into a the pocket inside the left side of his coat. The clerk eyes then widened, when he saw the pistol that was in the holster on his hip. Nero pulled out a $20 bill, and placed it on the counter.

"Can I get the change back, please?" he requested.

The clerk looked at the bill, blinked twice, and then looked back at the customer. "Um, sir? What's this?"

"It's twenty bucks," he replied.

"Sir, this is _paper_. It's not _gil_ ," the clerk explained, with a cheerful, yet wary tone.

"Of course it's paper. It's a dollar _bill,_ " was Nero's reply.

The clerk was obviously nervous at this point, as he took a gold coin from the cash register. "Sir, _this_ is gil," he explained. "We only accept _this_ here, sir."

And at that moment, Nero felt like slapping himself. He was in another world. Of course they had a different currency!

"Well, can't you make an exception? It's valuable," he inquired meekly.

"Afraid not, sir. If you can't pay for this, I'm afraid I'm gonna have to ask you to return those items to where you found them."

Nero frowned, with a frustrated groan escaping his mouth. This made the clerk even more nervous.

"Is there a problem, here?"

Nero visibly gritted his teeth, when he heard a cool, female voice. Quickly glancing to his left, he saw that the woman was standing next to him with her arms crossed, and her eyes glaring at him.

Taking a deep breath, Nero tried to sound calm as he spoke. "No, _officer_. Why would there be a problem, _officer_? Hehe, that's a dumb thing to say, _officer_."

Lightning did not even blink at the man's sarcasm, holding her even and stern gaze at the man,

Nero shook his head, and then looked back at the clerk. "Anyway, I'll just... Put these back now."

He then snatched both of the items with his left hand in a harsh manner, and walked back to the aisle.

Lightning's eyes never left the back of the man's blue coat as he walked off.

"Um, you're with the Bodhum Security Regiment, right?"

The woman didn't look at the clerk as she nodded.

"Well, just so you know, that man had a _gun_ hidden in his coat!" he whispered.

The female soldier's eyes narrowed further. Looking at the aisle the man went in, she silently made her way into the aisle next to it.

Meanwhile, Nero grounded his teeth as he approached the racks where he found the two items. Nothing was going his way that day, it seemed. He was far away from home, he did not know where he was, and now his money was useless. And they were making a big deal out of tape and an arm sling. He growled at how ridiculous the whole thing was, and over something so insignificant. In fact, if he were to take the items and hide them in his coat, they would probably not even notice...

Nero looked to the left slowly, and then to the right. The woman had not followed him, and nobody was around. And after an incredibly bad start to his day, he wanted to regain a sense of control over his misfortune.

Reaching for the box with the black tape, he slowly tore the cardboard box. He winced several times when it made small tear sounds. After opening it to a significant length, Nero pulled the black tape out with his left hand, and shoved it into his left pocket. He then repeated the same thing with the arm sling, but placed it inside his coat pocket. Nero then hid the torn boxes behind a row of bandage boxes.

_'Now I just gotta get out of here,'_ he thought to himself. The young man then turned to walk away.

"Going somewhere with _that_?"

Nero instantly froze, with his eyes widening as far as they could. Slowly turning to the right, he saw that the rose-haired officer was standing behind him, with a menacing look in her eyes. It didn't take him long to figure out that she had _seen_ him _stealing_ the black tape and the arm sling.

" _Hands behind your back!_ " she ordered, as she gripped a handle on a weapons case that Nero had barely noticed before that moment.

He slowly raised his left hand. "Okay... I know this looks bad. But there's a perfectly _logical_ explanation for this."

"Is that right? Because the only explanation I see here is that you're _stealing_ ," she countered.

Nero chuckled anxiously. "Hehe, yeah... See, here's the _thing_ -"

The man quickly grabbed a box of bandages, and threw it at the woman's face, before darting down the aisle.

Lightning swatted the box to the side, and quickly gave chase.

"This is Sergeant Farron to all units! Be on the lookout for a male with platinum hair wearing a long blue trench coat! I am currently in pursuit! Repeat, _in pursuit_!" she reported to her earpiece.

**-Shopping Mall-**

"Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!" Nero hissed as he ran out of the Unicorn Mart.

He had made a rookie mistake. Nero had somehow convinced himself to shoplift, which was something he knew was extremely foolish. However, due to his anger, he went through with. And now, he had done the exact _opposite_ of what he wanted to do, which was attract attention.

And judging by the sound of harsh footsteps behind him, the woman was already on his tail.

Out of nowhere, a man with similar attire had gotten in his path. He held his hand forward, while reaching for his pistol with the other.

" _Stop_! _Bodhum Security RegimAAAA_ -"

Nero did not let the officer finish, as he slammed against him with his shoulder. The officer stumbled backwards, and fell down to the fountain's pool. The former knight only sprinted towards the nearby street.

The male soldier spotted Lightning running after him. " _Hurry, Sergeant! He's getting away!_ "

"No he's _not_ ," she hissed to herself.

* * *

**-Alleyway-**

"Did you break it, Fang?" Vanille asked.

Fang shrugged. "I guess so. Probably _did._ "

Both girls had somehow ended up eating with two boys from some "You-Knee-Verse-City." They had tried their best to act like someone from Cocoon, and made some considerable mistakes, such as Fang covering the food that was served to her with a lot of salt. However, when the men had called their people "barbarians," Fang had quietly led them to the alleyway, where she swiftly knocked them unconscious.

After that, Fang looked through their pockets for items, only for her to find a metal card with a black circle in the middle. Vanille had pressed it, and, to their shock, it activated itself. They showed the image and information of one of the men, which was the card's owner. Shortly after, however, a silver owl had flown around them only to fly away. They then looked at the other man's card, and pressed the button on it as well. However, it caused the card the glow brightly, before subsiding. Fang pressed the button again, but this time the card activated, and all of the metal became transparent.

"Oh good!" Vanille said with relief. "I guess we didn't break it, after all!"

However, when the holographic image revealed itself, there was no image of a head, or information.

"Or perhaps it _is_ broken after all?" Vanille wondered. "Do you think that we can use it, now?"

Fang shrugged. "Maybe. But even if we _could,_ what would we do with it?"

"I don't know," she replied honestly.

After a few seconds of thinking, Fang nodded to herself. "Let's take 'em."

Vanille sighed. "We might as well."

Fang grabbed the other card, and handed it to her friend. After they put both cards away, they froze. The sound of footsteps came to their ears.

"Fang, we need to hide!" Vanille cried in panic.

With a determined look, Fang looked around the alley, and found a potential hiding space behind a large trash bin.

"There! Behind that thing!" she ordered.

Both women then hid behind the bin, as they tried to hide from whoever was approaching from around the corner.

From the other side of the alleyway came a man with platinum hair, and a blue coat. He was running hurriedly down the path, when he noticed the two unconscious men before him.

"Wha- What the _hell?_ " he muttered.

" _FREEZE_!"

Another person, a girl in a uniform with rose hair, had appeared from the other end. The man turned around, and took a step backward.

The woman then saw the two men on the ground. " _What happened here?!_ " she demanded.

The man waved his hands in the air. "Look, I know I'm in trouble and all, but _believe_ me. I _don't_ know what happened to these guys! _I DIDN'T DO THIS_!"

The woman then pointed her gun at the man. "I said _FREEZE_!"

Both women saw the man grit his teeth. " _Grrr,_ _DAMMIT_!"

The man then ran down the alleyway, while the woman followed after him. She fired a warning shot at him, but the bullet passed the man by.

After they were out of their view, Fang and Vanille quickly left their hiding spot, and ran the other way.

* * *

Nero sprinted down the closed space, keeping his eyes focused forward as he did so. While turning around a corner, however, he briefly glanced at his right arm. Back when he had spotted the two unconscious men, his Devil Bringer went off. This told him that something unnatural was nearby.

_'What could've set it off?'_ he wondered.

He shook his head, and focused on evading capture. He came to a skidding halt, however, when he saw that a large grated fence was blocking the path.

"Come on, not _now..._ " he hissed, as he his eyes darted around in search of an opening.

" _Hold it right there!_ "

Nero grimaced in irritation, as the woman's voice had finally caught up to him.

Lightning aimed her gunblade at the thief's back, eyeing him carefully. She approached slowly, steadying her aim on him in case the man decided to attack.

The young thief looked left, right, and finally up. He saw that the fence was high. If he tried to climb over it, the woman would be able to apprehend him. To escape from the soldier, he would have to jump over it. And he would have to jump like the superhuman he was; he would need to make another rookie mistake. Thinking to himself in seconds, he made his decision.

If he wanted to evade capture, he would have to cheat.

" _Give up,_ " she advised harshly. "There's _nowhere_ left for you to run."

_'That's what you think, girly,'_ he mentally dismissed, and ran towards the fence.

The soldier gritted her teeth, and gave chase. She sprinted towards him, and would grab him as he tried climbing up the fence.

However, what happened next seemed impossible to her, even if she saw it first hand. The thief crouched down, and seemingly soared into the air. He flipped forward, and the tip of his feet slid along the fence. Using the slight friction between his feet and the fence, the man then kicked his feet against the fence, and jump upwards. Lightning's eyes widened in surprise, as the man landed on the other side of the fence. Lightning was caught off guard by the thief's action, as it bordered on the edge of superhuman.

Surprised, but not impressed.

Nero got to his feet, while dusting off his right shoulder with his left hand. Turning around, he smirked triumphantly at the girl. But the smirk feel when he saw what she was doing.

The girl snapped the fingers of her right hand, and was then enveloped in a purple glow. She then crouched down, pushing herself off of the ground. To his disbelief, the officer soared into the air. His jaw slacked, as she made it to the top of the fence with ease.

"C'mon, _give me a break!_ " he whined, as he darted out of the alleyway.

Lightning snapped her right fingers again, and landed down to the ground on the other side of the fence. As soon as she spotted the thief, she was on his heels.

Nero ran out into the street, and hissed when he saw that there were a lot of civilians out and about. Pushing past people that were in his way, the devil hunter tried to find a place where he could hide. His blue eyes then landed on a path where a lot of people were going. As he got closer, he realized that it was a train station, as he spotted trains inside.

Looking over his shoulder, he saw his chaser pushing against people while trying to catch up. In that moment, Nero chose to enact his next plan of action inside the station.

He was going to blend in with the crowd.

* * *

**-Bodhum Station-**

Lightning hastily ran into the station. As she made her way there, many civilians had gotten in her way, which made her lose sight of the thief.

As she ran down to the platforms, she could hear the speakers make announcements overhead. _"Train shuttle to Euride Gorge will be departing in five minutes."_

She walked to the center of the platform, and many passengers walked all around her. The soldier's eyes furrowed with focus, as she tried to find him. Compared to most of the citizens of Bodhum, this thief stuck out like a sore thumb. It would be very easy to hide in plain sight, which meant that he probably was not.

Then, she got a break.

A female voice talked through her earpiece. " _Attention all units near Bodhum Station. Systems reporting that security has been breached near the Euride Gorge platform. Any units within the vicinity are ordered to report._ "

Lightning reached for her earpiece. "This is Sergeant Farron, over. I am currently in Bodhum Station. Investigating the breach now."

" _Copy that._ "

Heading for the platform, she could hear the intercom report another announcement. _"Train shuttle to Euride Gorge will be departing in two minutes."_

The female soldier scanned the area. The platform was relatively empty, save for some passengers getting their belongings. Everyone else had already boarded the train.

She was walking past one of the doors, when she paused. Looking over her shoulder, she spotted a red handle, that belonged to a sheathed blade. The blade was sheathed to the back of a person, with a red hood, that was inside a train car and sitting next to the door.

The person was wearing a blue coat.

The soldier noticed that the individual had not noticed her, which meant that the element of surprise was hers.

She reached for her earpiece, and spoke. "Target spotted. Apprehending _now._ "

* * *

Nero sat on the seat of the train. He figured that if he waited on the train long enough, the soldier would eventually give up. As he sat, he actually thought about riding the train, and seeing where it went.

His thoughts were interrupted, when someone pulled his hood off of his head. He looked up, only to instantly regret it.

The soldier gave him a harsh, unforgiving glare. "Next time you want to hide, try not to wear a sword that _sticks out._ "

Nero grimaced. He had forgotten that his sword was on his back; he had made another rookie mistake.

Sighing, Nero gave her a sheepish glance. "I don't suppose you could still let me off with a warning?"

"After all the trouble you put me and a few other officers through? _Not happening._ Points for trying, though."

The former knight frowned. "Of course."

The officer then grabbed his left arm and pulled him to his feet, which garnered the attention of all the nearby passengers. "Now turn around. You're under arrest."

Before the thief could respond, however, the door next to them started closing. Reacting quickly, Nero pushed the officer to the ground. Jumping forward, he rolled out of train car right as the door closed.

The man quickly got up, and saw the officer had rushed to the door's window as soon as she got to her feet. He smirked, as she banged her fist on it furiously.

His smirk fell, unfortunately, when he noticed that she placed her finger on her ear, and spoke.

_'She's calling for reinforcements,'_ he realized. Tensing visibly, Nero then ran down the platform, hoping to get a head start on his chasers.

* * *

Lightning struck the window one more time, as the train to Euride moved off of the platform slowly. Taking deep breaths, she sat down on the seat that the thief had sat on. Her stomach churned as the train became faster.

She gritted her teeth in annoyance. She had called for reinforcements to apprehend the thief, but deep down in her mind, she knew that they would not catch him.

Lightning grew angry with herself, because she knew that she was going to be late for work; she prided herself with arriving to base on time. The soldier would have to work overtime, which meant more time away from her sister.

But what infuriated her just as much was that her pride had taken a devastating blow.

The man had both outsmarted _and_ outran her. _No one_ ever outran her, and her speed was something she felt proud of. But this thief was just as fast as her, even with all of the gear he wore.

As soon as she got back, she would make sure that he was caught. Lightning would be the one to bring him to justice.

* * *

**-Secluded Shore-**

The devil hunter looked around the corner, and breathed in relief when he saw no soldiers. He then walked down the steps, and onto the beach. He saw a tree that offered shade, and went over there to sit down. As he sat cross legged, Nero reached for his pockets, and removed the sling and tape that he had stolen.

He went to work, and rolled up his right sleeve, after which he removed the red glove on his hand. He then took the tape, and pulled on the strap. He then stuck it to his right bicep, and began wrapping it around the length of his Devil Bringer. When he did so, he then wrapped the tape around his thumb and fingers.

The young hunter padded the cast to test its hardness, before putting his red finger-less glove back on his right hand. He then took out the white sling, and put it on his right hand. Nero then got the lace, and placed it on the left side of his neck near his clavicle. He was satisfied, as he now looked like a man with an injured arm.

His lips dipped into a frowned as he thought about all of the effort he had put in to get the items for this disguise. Law enforcement was on the lookout for him, which caused him to hide in his current position. He had planned to keep a low profile, and had failed that objective. Not only that, but he seemed to have made an enemy out of that female officer, judging by how furiously she pounded on the door of the train car.

Nero decided to wait for the heat to go down. He noticed that the tower that he had woken up under was not too far from his current position. He would wait until sunset to head back, so that he would not be blinded by the cover of night.

Taking a deep breath, he sat there patiently, waiting for the sun to go down.

* * *

**-Nuova Fortuna - Beach - Two Years Prior-**

_"Hey, Kyrie."_

_The sun had gone down, and the couple had decided to return home. Nero was rolling the blanket up, while the empty basket was on the sand next to him. The former Songstress looked down at her lifelong friend when he spoke._

_"Remember what you asked me earlier? About me, and my dreams?" he inquired._

_The girl's face softened. "Yes. But, you don't have to say anything. It was a ridiculous question."_

_"It's_ not _ridiculous," he asserted. "And yeah, I don't have to answer, but I_ want to. _Because I just thought of an answer."_

_Kyrie looked at him carefully, as he stood up from the ground, and walked to her. She noticed that when he turned to look at her, he had a sincere look in his eyes. She also saw that he was blushing slightly._

_"Look," he started. "I don't... I'm not really experienced with this kind of talk, okay? So I'll try to avoid saying anything cheesy. But see, I really don't_ have _any big aspirations that I want to achieve. It kinda happens when the only thing you're good for is_ fighting _."_

_His hands then gripped her shoulders, which gave him her full attention. "But I_ do _have a dream. I dream about living out the rest of my life peacefully with my family:_ you. _As long as I know you're here, I don't_ need _anything else. I will always be at your side... To have you with me is my_ only _dream... Okay...?"_

_The girl's face softened in disbelief, as the sincerity of his words sank in. When they did, she smiled at him with teary eyes._

_"Nero..._ Thank you. _"_

_Nero returned the smile, as he pulled her into a hug. "Listen to me Kyrie. I will_ always _protect you. Don't you_ ever _forget that. Alright?"_

_In a time of_ despair _, he would give her_ hope _._

* * *

**-Present-**

Nero's eyes slowly opened.

The boy had fallen asleep, and he was relieved to know that they had not found him. Looking up, he noticed that the color of the sky was a pearl-pink, which meant that it was the afternoon.

Just like the one on that day three years ago, when he had spent the day with his beloved.

Frowning sadly, Nero stood up from his spot, deciding that it was time to head back for the island he had awoken in. The boy had only taken a few steps, before stopping. He turned toward his right, and looked out to the distance. After a short while, Nero reached underneath the collar of his black undershirt with his left hand, and pulled out the golden Angel Pendant around his neck.

Holding the trinket in his hand, his eyes closed in melancholy, as the pendant made him recall joyous, yet painful memories.

_'What do you call a dream that never comes true?'_

The former knight put the Angel Pendant away, and started off towards his destination.

_'Simple. A regret.'_

* * *

**-to be continued in the next mission-**

* * *

Mission 4: The Stone in Stagnant Waters

Nero meets a young girl, after saving her from peril. As he struggles to discover where he is in the new world, events unfold elsewhere that forces others into the chain of fate. The game is about to change. Will Nero adapt, or perish?

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to leave a comment, subscribe, and a kudos!


	5. Mission 4: The Stone in Stagnant Waters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Revised on FF.Net: 4-6-15

 

* * *

**Mission 4: The Stone in Stagnant Waters - The Seaside City of Bodhum**

* * *

**-The Seaside City of Bodhum - Beachside Outlets-**

_'No... No..._ Please no... _'_

A girl walked by herself, as the day was coming to an end. She made sure to keep her right hand covering her left bicep.

The girl had rose-colored hair, which was tied into a ponytail that hung on the left side of her head, with pale-aqua eyes. The girl's hairband was black, with a blue gem hanging off of it, with two pearls on both sides. She had cat-shaped earrings on both ears. A black armband was on her right bicep, and she had a spare hair band, that had a red gem instead of blue, around her left wrist. She wore a white sleeveless dress shirt underneath a semi-transparent pink sweeper. The girl had a red plaid-pleated skirt that was lined with black lace, black thigh-high stockings, with a white diamond shape attached to the top of her left stocking, and ivory ankle-high boots.

The girl walked along the sidewalk, but was so lost in her own thoughts that she was oblivious to all around her. But one could hardly blame her if they were in her position. The worst possible outcome that could happen had happened. There was no way to change it. If anyone should ever find out, she would be imprisoned and experimented on, or worse, shot on the spot.

In short, she was a dead girl walking.

So distraught by her despairing thoughts, she didn't even notice that someone was in front of her, until the exact moment she bumped into that person. The girl quickly took two steps back, while making sure once again that her hand covered her left bicep.

Looking up, her eyes met with brown ones that expressed irritation. The young man had tanned skin, and was wearing a black dress shirt left unbuttoned, so that his chest and stomach were exposed. His shorts were black as well, but sagged significantly below the waist. His spiky hair gave off an air of aggression.

Behind him were two other men with similar complexions, but different appearances. One was rather overweight, with a babyface and black eyes staring back at her. He wore a white, short-sleeved shirt, and gray shorts. The other man had a buzz-cut, as well as a black short-sleeved shirt, with similar black eyes, with white shorts. What set him apart, however, was his somewhat large and round nose.

The girl's eyes quickly fell to her feet. "E-excuse me." Hastily, her feet shuffled to walk away.

However, the man with the big nose cut her off from her path, after closely looking at her for those few seconds she wasted in looking at who she had run into. "Whoa, whoa, hold it, girly. You in a hurry?"

The girl nodded her head, as she hurriedly rounded away from the man. "Yes, now please excuse me..."

"Hey, whoa, hold up a sec, girl," interjected the spiky haired man, holding his arm out in front of her. She then noticed that the other two were following behind her steadily. "Maybe you can help us out. See, we're a little lost. And you look like a local."

Unnerved by the group's persistence, the girl shoved past them towards the first opening gap she could find, which was to the left.

"I'm sorry, I can't help you! Now please-"

She stopped, as she realized, to her shock and horror, that she had made a terrible decision in going to the left. Thanks to her blind desire to get away, she now found herself in an alleyway, with a garbage bin to the left, and a metal wall at the end. There was no way to get out, other than to go back the way she came.

Which was also cut off by the three men who followed after her.

"Oh, where you going, babe?" jeered the fat one. "There's _nothing_ down this way."

"Aw, don't be that way to her, Aleks," said the spiky haired one. "Now, why you actin' so _scared,_ girl?"

The girl made sure to keep her grip over her bicep tighter. "P-please... Please just let me go. I just want to go home."

The girl then tried to push past them, but the one with the buzz-cut got in her way. Even more appalling, he held her back by grabbing both of her shoulders without permission. But what gave her the most anxiety was that his hand was close to her left bicep.

"Look, babe. We're just lookin' for a little-"

"Let me go, _NOW!_ " she shrieked loudly.

Then, she lifted her knee, and hit the man in the crotch. He gasped harshly, doubling over in pain. The girl tried to run around him, but the spiky haired man, pushed her back. She stumbled backwards, with her hand tightly around her bicep. She then felt something hard collide with the side of her face, and found herself falling to her left side onto the ground. Pain throbbed at the side of her face, but she somehow managed to cover her left bicep with her hand.

The man she kneed in the crotch scowled in fury. "You... You stupid _bitch..._ Why you gotta play hard to get, huh?"

He then snatched the girl's hair, and pulled it back. "You girls always gotta play hard to get, huh? You can't be a nice, _compliant_ bitch for once, _huh?!_ "

By the time the spiky haired man pulled him back to his feet, the girl was already shedding tears.

He sighed. "You see? See what you made my buddy Khris do? We came to this town under the impression that there was gonna be hot babes that were easy. But what do we get instead? We get a bunch of girls who are either _taken,_ or just plain out tell us to _get lost,_ " he elaborated. "And after all of the work we've done lately, we _deserve_ a little R and R, if you get what I'm saying."

"I'm tired of this _bullshit!_ " Khris howled.

"As am I. So we were gonna ask you where we could find some easy ass around here," the man continued. "But seeing how defiant you were being, well, I figure we'll just have to settle for _you._ "

"Hold her, Ernezt!" demanded the fat one, Aleks.

The girl, eyes wide with fear, frantically began crawling away from her attackers. However, since she was still covering her arm, her retreat was slower than she would have liked.

"No, please..." she begged. "Please, don't do this!"

"Hey, I go first!" Khris announced. "I deserve it, after that hit to the nuts!"

The girl could hear the sound of her heart beat, as time seemed to slow down. It was almost torture, having to watch as those three predators approach her, and know that there was nothing she could do to stop them.

Of course, she could try to use _that which she was just cursed with_ , but in doing so meant exposing herself, which was the same as sentencing herself to death. The young girl could only sit there, watching her incoming assault, with the mild hope that one of her heroes would show up to save her.

 _'Snow... Sis... Please help..._ Please... _'_

Khris grinned avariciously, as his hand reached out for her. "Don't worry. You'll _enjoy_ this..."

The girl then raised her arms, or at least raised them enough so that her left bicep was still covered.

 _'_ LIGHTNING, HELP ME! _'_

" _HEY, DOUCHEBAGS!_ "

The three boys instantly stopped their advance, perplexed by the sudden insult. To the girl's relief, the three thugs turned around to the alleyway's mouth, and saw the one responsible for the remark.

Looking past them, the girl saw, to her relief, a man with silver hair wearing a blue coat.

* * *

Nero's eyes glared at the three men in righteous fury.

Moments before, he had been walking back towards the shore he had woken up in earlier that day. He had taken extra care in making sure he avoided the law enforcement.

However, as he neared the islet, with the sun setting against the ocean, he spotted the trio bothering the young girl. Just looking at her, he could tell that she was heavily distressed. And he knew something wasn't right the moment the girl ran into the alley, with those three following.

Having been a knight in the Castle Town of Fortuna, he had his share of run-ins with sexual predators like these. He could practically identify them from their actions alone. It was no surprise to him, that when he walked to the alleyway and peered around the corner, he saw the three thugs attempting to have their way with her.

The devil slayer was already having a terrible day. From being away from home, to finding out that he was in a strange world unlike anything he had ever known, being forced to steal, and running away from the law, it was a far cry from the best day he had ever had. He had a feeling deep down that getting involved here would only lead to more frustration and problems down the road.

However, any reasoning of the sort was wiped away the moment one of the thugs decided to hit her, especially after she had repeatedly rebuked all three of them. And he was even more incensed when they all began to move on her while she was on the ground.

If there was one thing Nero never stood for, was failing to do the right thing. And stopping three degenerates from raping the girl was, without a shadow of a doubt, the right thing.

Also... His Bringer was going off, similar to how it had been earlier.

Nero called out to them, appropriately naming them for what they were, at least in the demon hunter's opinion. Instantly, like unsuspecting fools, they turned around and saw their opposer.

Aleks blinked twice, before addressing him. "What the _hell_ did you say?"

The former knight's gaze didn't falter as he slowly approached them. "You idiots heard me the first time. Honestly, I shouldn't be surprised to find _douchebags_ in a place like this."

The young man then stopped, getting a good look at the three. Judging by their appearance, if things had to get messy, it would be quick.

Ernezt pointed a finger at him. "Look, _mophead,_ there something we can help you with? We're kinda busy, if you can't see." The man had the nerve of addressing their attempted crime so casually. It only served to anger Nero.

"Not anymore, you're not," he retorted. "Let the girl go."

The three thugs continued to stare at him, before Khris took a step forward, with the other two following him. The girl, seeing that their attention was no longer on her, steadily backed away, until her back was to the right wall.

"Listen, you _mopheaded motherfucker,_ " Khris warned. "Unless you want that _other_ arm of yours to be as bad as the one in the sling, walk away. This has nothin' to do with you, so just look the other way, yeah?"

Nero only smirked, as he managed to deceive the thug with his sling. "Yeah. It _doesn't_ have anything to do with me. But that _doesn't_ mean what you're doing is _right._ _Or_ that I'm gonna stand here and let you pricks get away with it!"

Khris, not satisfied with the boy's response, stalked forward slowly, while making his most intimidating face yet. Its effect, however, was lost on the devil hunter.

"So what then, huh?" he taunted, when he was close enough. He then made the mistake of repeatedly pushing Nero with his hand. It had no physical effect whatsoever, but it did serve to infuriate the hunter even more. "You're not gonna walk away, huh? So what're you gonna do, _Mr. Hero? Huh?!_ "

Nero managed to keep up his smirk, despite his growing ire. "Well, as much as I'd like to kick all of your asses outright, I'm actually gonna give you guys the courtesy of _choosing_ how this goes down."

Ernezt chuckled. "Oh yeah?"

"Yup," Nero nodded. "The way I see it, there're two ways this is gonna end: _Option 1_ or _Option 2._ "

"That right? What's Option 1?" Khris challenged.

"Option 1 is where you let both me and the girl leave _intact,_ and you guys walk away with what little dignity you guys have to start with. Basically, you guys don't _win,_ but you don't _lose,_ either."

The explanation only made the aggressor scoff. "And Option 2?"

Nero shrugged. "Oh, you know... Pretty much the _opposite_ of of Option 1. You guys try to force yourselves onto the girl, but _don't_ because _I kick the living crap outta all of you_." He paused. "Wouldn't recommend it, though."

The smirk on the hunter's face began to fall when he saw that Khris started chuckling to himself, and the other two followed him. Although, it didn't fall because he was surprised; they were not taking his threat seriously.

The aggressive Khris motioned to him mockingly. "Interesting... But what about, you know... _Option 3?_ "

Briefly, the smirk returned. "Oh, you caught that, huh?" Nero asked. "Well, that was on purpose. See, _there is no Option 3_."

Khris' grin went even wider. "Sorry, but there _is_. See, Option 3 is the one where _we_ leave _your crippled ass_ in a bloody heap, while we take the girl somewhere, and give this bitch the _best time of her life._ We take her _anyway,_ and _you lose_. Sound nice, huh?"

Nero's smile fell heavily this time, as he flexed his left hand. "You really _are_ a special kind of stupid, aren't you?"

Gone was the hunter's nonchalant expression, and what came back was his furious glare, with his ire rising as he explained the situation again.

"You're not hearin' me, asshole. _There is no Option 3_ , because you're _not_ gonna win. You're _not. Gonna. Get._ To _win._ There is no such thing as a scenario here, where you guys go ahead and force yourselves onto this girl, and feel good about it the next fricken' day! There's only Option 1 or Option 2. One or the other; nothing _more_ , nothing _less_."

"And to be honest with you, I'm havin' a _really_ bad day. And from what I can see, so is _she._ We don't want pricks like you making it worse for us. So I'm telling you, pick Option 1. Because I just wanna go find a place to sleep, and dealing with you idiots _isn't_ makin' me feel any better!"

He then shrugged with finality. "But, hey. _Your_ _choice_."

However serious his warning was to the three thugs, it seemed to have fallen on deaf ears. Khris only continued to grin, as did his other friends. The man looked back at his companions, shaking his head while gesturing at Nero.

Finally, the man faced Nero again, before giving him his answer. " _Fuck_ this shit."

Nero saw the left swing coming from miles away. His expression never faltered as he caught the fist with his _right hand_ that was in the sling.

Khris face fell in shock at what had occurred. Seconds later, his expression crumpled in pain, as Nero gripping the man's fist tightly with the intent to crush his hand bones. The man wailed loudly, as the pain enveloped his hand.

Nero shook his head, apathetic to the man's screams. "Should've picked Option 1."

The former knight then released his grip from the man's hand. Looking from where he stood, he could see that some of the fingers were bent, telling him that he did manage to break some bones. However, as Khris looked at the terrible sight, Nero reared his left leg backwards, before letting it fly forward to kick Khris backwards. As the man flew backwards, Nero could have sworn he heard a crunching sound.

Khris fell on his back, between the other thugs. Nero looked at their faces, and would describe them as "priceless." The girl, on the other hand, had an expression that reflected awe, rather than in shock.

Khris sluggishly sat up, and then felt his nose. He winced in pain, but his jaw dropped at the sight of blood on his finger. Eyes wide with fury, he looked at his cohorts. "The fuck are you waiting for?! _Kick his ass!_ "

Both Ernezt and Aleks briefly looked at each other, before turning their attention to Nero, and rushing to him.

Ernezt was the first to reach him, but he ran in so blindly, that he had no way to defend himself. Seeing this, Nero simply kicked him back with a right straight kick, that sent him to the ground.

Aleks came up to Nero, on his toes, but with his hands pointing upwards to the side. He then swung at Nero, but the strikes were downward; they reminded Nero of how certain gang bangers in New York would fight, which meant that it was a matter of waiting for an opening. He didn't have to wait long, as the second time he rushed at him, Aleks over swung at him. The devil hunter, ducked to a crouch, before snapping up with a left hook to side of the face. Looking to finish the fight sooner, he then followed with a left elbow to the other side of his head. He then followed it with another hook, which was followed by another elbow. He did this combo three times. By then, there was bruising on Aleks' cheeks, and he looked ready to fall. The former knight reared his arm backwards landed a left uppercut to Aleks' chin, which forced him to fall backwards, unconscious.

Nero then set his sights on Ernezt, who gawked at the sight of the unconscious Aleks. The man then puts arms up into a boxers stance, and approached Nero slower than he did the first time. It was no effort dodging his strikes, as Ernezt on sent straight jabs at Nero. This made the demon hybrid's job easier, as he could easily read his openings. And, like Aleks, he did not have to wait long for the opening. Nero slid to his right, when Ernezt sent a right jab at him, and sent a fast kick to the thug as fast as a whip. The hit staggered Ernezt, yet this only told Nero to continue hitting him. He sent multiple kicks to his left side, arm, leg, and shoulder, before finally, he sent a right roundhouse kick to the face with enough momentum to let his left leg finish him off with a back-heel kick. The collision to the side of his head slammed Ernezt to the garbage bin, where he slid down, unconscious.

Before Nero could take a quick breather, however, the girl's voice cut through the silence. " _LOOK OUT!_ "

Turning towards the direction of the girl's voice, he was somewhat surprised to see Khris rushing towards him. What truly got Nero's attention, was the knife in his left hand. With a feral grin, Khris lunged at Nero, aiming the tip of the knife at his skull.

Out of pure instinct, Nero raised his slinged arm, with his right palm open. The hand intersected the knife, and Nero slightly winced when the knife penetrated.

However, to Khris' shock, the knife did not penetrate to the other side of his hand. In fact, it barely managed to break through, even as he tried to push the knife through. The demon hybrid was not going to give him a chance to explore that option, even if it was a fruitless venture. He kicked Khris to the wall, which made the knife fall to the floor. Nero then rushed towards the thug, planting his right arm against the man's neck. Not missing a beat, he then repeatedly punched Khris in the face. He gave the thug no moment to breath, as his fist kept forcing the man's face to the side. With a final left hook, sent Khris sprawling to the ground. But even then, the thug's punishment was not finished. Nero stood over him, and then planted his foot on the right side of his face, which was the side with the most severe bruises from Nero's assault. Khris' cries fell on deaf ears, as the former knight squatted slightly, thus putting more pressure onto his face.

After letting out a sigh, Nero spoke again. "Option 2, pal. You chose it, now you gotta deal with the consequences."

Khris only whined in pain.

"Now, here's what's gonna happen. The girl's gonna go home, I'm gonna take you and your guys' money." His look became even darker. "But you better listen carefully to this next part. If I find out that you goons are doing this _again,_ and I _catch_ you..." He paused momentarily, and squatted further to make sure the thug was listening. "Next time, this foot won't be on your face. It'll be crushing your _manhood..._ _Are we clear?!_ "

Whimpering beneath his foot, Khris could only nod in response.

Nero smirked. "Good."

The demon hunter then stood up, and squatted again to slam his knee onto Khris' face, which finally knocked him out.

Nero sat there for a few seconds, before finally searching over Khris for any money or belongings. It seemed he was not done punishing the thugs yet. He looked at the beaten thugs around him, while dusting off his pants and coat. As Khris was unconscious at his feet, Ernezt was slumped against the trash bin, and Aleks was flat on the ground, bleeding from his mouth and nose.

Finally finished with the ruffians, the devil hunter turned his attention back to the girl. Her jaw had slacked at the sight of what had occurred. He was taken aback slightly by the sight of her rose-colored hair, but he quickly amended it when he recalled that he himself had platinum-colored hair, which was also unusual. He briefly had a feeling of deja vu, as the officer from earlier had the same color in her hair. And although the would-be attackers were disposed of, the girl was still tense with apprehension.

Seeing this, Nero just glanced at her. "Hey, it's alright. I'm not a bad guy. You don't gotta worry about these jerks, anymore."

He could hear a small gasp escape from the girl's mouth. She then took a deep breath, and exhaled it slowly, with her frame relaxing all the while.

"They hurt you bad?" he inquired.

She shook her head in response, which he in turn responded with a nod. The girl continued to watch as he pulled out some gil from the pockets of the unconscious thug.

"...You're going to steal from them?" she questioned.

Nero shrugged. "Serves them right for trying to pull that bullshit." He flashed her a small grin. "And between you and me, I'm _kinda_ broke."

The girl did not pursue the conversation further after that. The man then got up, walked over to Aleks' sleeping form, and crouched to search what he had. From that angle, the girl took a glance at his right hand, to see if it was hurt from the knife that struck it earlier.

However, to her shock, she was graced with a curious sight. She could see a small tear in the red glove of his hand. From that, a small glow illuminated out of it. It was small, but she could see it shine against the palm of the man's hand. It almost made her catch her breath, the way it made her mind race at the possibilities it presented.

Nero then shot her another glance. "You should get back to where you came from. If these pricks were out at sunset, I'd hate to see who comes out at _night_."

She blinked twice at his words, before finally moving her legs. She stepped over Khris' sleeping form, before finally bolting toward the alley's exit.

However, when she passed Nero, a strange feeling overcame his senses. While he picked up a strange, silver card with a button in the middle of it, a throbbing sensation overcame his right arm; the same one he felt when he first arrived near the alleyway. This time, though, it came stronger than before, and it happened as soon as the girl ran passed him by.

Connecting these two coincidences together, Nero stood up and watched as the girl ran out of his sight.

His eyes narrowed in suspicion and curiosity, as the young devil hunter pondered what had triggered that reaction. He recalled that, earlier that day, he had felt his Bringer go off. He was being chased by that officer, and remembered that she also had rose-colored hair like this girl. Perhaps there was a connection, but he sincerely doubted that the connection was as simple as hair color.

In the end, he figured it didn't truly matter. Worrying about a strange reaction from his Devil Bringer was the third thing on his list of things to worry about, with the second being getting food, and the first getting back home. With that logic in mind, he decided that, until further notice, he would forget about the subject.

"Tch. Didn't even bother to say a simple 'thanks'... Just my luck."

As he crouched down to collect more stolen goods, Nero was unaware of the silver owl watching over him from the top of the alleyway.

* * *

**-Farron Residence-**

A deep frown had graced Lightning's features, ever since she had gotten on that train. Or, more truthfully, ever since she was _outsmarted_ into boarding that train on accident.

Because of her earlier failure, she reported for work five hours late. She had to work overtime tomorrow, and would have to do so again the following day, to her surprising frustration. Usually, she would have done so willingly. But now that she had a renewed desire to spend time with her sister, however, it only served to retract her from her purpose.

She allowed herself to sigh in relief, as she entered into her home. Considering how long she had been gone, Serah would no doubt already be home. It was already night time, after all. Hopefully, an explanation of the day's events would allow herself to reconnect with her sibling, if only for a bit.

"Serah, I'm home!" she announced, as she walked into the kitchen, while placing her gunblade onto the tabletop.

Lightning scanned the entire room, wondering where her sister was. The lights were on, which meant that someone had to be in the house. Her eyes then fell on the stove, and the pan that was being heated on top of it. She made her way over to it, and saw that the pan was reheating the stew from the morning. Serah must have had a busy day, if she hadn't bothered to make supper.

"Serah?" she called again. "Are you home?"

Then, she was graced with a muffled response from the upper floor. " _Here! Be down in a minute!_ "

Sighing in relief, the older Farron sister took a seat on the right side of table behind the stove. She waited patiently, as the muffled footsteps got closer to the kitchen. A few seconds later, her sister, Serah, emerged. She wore her rose-colored hair exactly as she always did, with a ponytail falling to the left side.

But today was different, however, as she was wearing a long-sleeved, beige, wool sweater.

"Hey, Sis! Welcome home," she greeted with a smile.

The soldier arched an eyebrow. "What's with the sweater?"

Serah's smile inched slightly downward. "Oh?... Well, it was getting really cold in here, so I wanted to wear it indoors."

"Right..." Lightning responded, with an unconvinced tone in her voice.

Serah walked to the stove. "Anyway, sorry I couldn't make anything tonight. I had a very busy day today. Hope you're okay with leftovers from the morning."

The older sister nodded. "Yeah, that's fine... Had a busy day myself."

The younger sister looked back, as she stirred the stew. "You gonna tell me about it?"

To both her dismay and surprise, Lightning took a deep nervous breath. It seemed what had happened earlier truly was embarrassing for her to even mention. "Let's just say... That my 'perfect' attendance record isn't so 'perfect,' anymore."

This elicited an audible gasp from Serah, much to Lightning's chagrin. "Wait... You were _late_ to _work?_ " she questioned, as she turned to face her sister.

"Yeah," she breathed. "I caught some ruffian stealing at the Unicorn Mart at the shopping mall. Tried to catch him, but ended up failing. I won't spare you the details, but... The chase ended with me getting stuck on a train to _Euride_ , and reporting _five hours late_ for work."

A hand found its way to Serah's mouth. "Are you _kidding?_ "

"No, I'm not. To make it up, I have to work overtime tomorrow and the next day. So you'll most likely be seeing me less these next two days."

The soldier nearly grimaced, when she saw that her sister's shoulders slumped visible. "Oh... I see. That's too bad..." She then smiled reassuringly. "Well, at least you're okay."

Serah then grabbed a bowl from a cupboard to her right, and then poured the stew into it. She then opened a drawer below it to pull out a spoon. Serah then walked towards his sister, blowing the steam out of the stew, before placing it before Lightning, and taking a seat to her left.

"So, did that 'ruffian' hurt you?" she inquired.

Lightning shook her head, while blowing some air to her stew, and eating a spoonful. "No, he didn't do anything serious... Although..."

Serah blinked. "Although...?"

Thoughts on the earlier chase led her to remember what the thief had done in order to evade arrest. He had literally jumped over a fence, without an AMP device. It sparked her curiosity, and had left her wondering just how he had managed to do that. However, her sister's constant call of her name brought her out of her stupor.

She shook her head. "No. It's nothing...!"

Lightning's eyes quickly snapped back to her sister's face. It was hidden behind the left hand on her cheek, but she caught it. She reprimanded herself for not seeing it sooner.

"Take your hand off of your cheek," she whispered sternly.

Her sister's eyes blinked, before dilating in realization. "Sis, wha-"

" _Take your hand off of your cheek, now,_ " she ordered more clearly.

Lightning saw her sister freeze as she heard the words leave her mouth. Part of her wish she had spoken more softly, but if what she saw was true, any chance of a subtle approach would be gone. The girl took a deep breath, before finally moving her hand away from her cheek.

"Let me see," she ordered.

Serah turned her head to the right, and Lightning gently placed her hand over her cheek. Her eyes barely needed any effort to register the bruise on her sister's cheek.

Lightning expression narrowed dangerously. "Who?"

Serah merely shook her head. "Look, don't worry about it-"

"' _Don't worry about it_?!'" she snapped. "Serah, someone _hurt_ you! How can I just forget about someone getting away with _that_?!"

"B-but it's okay!" she cried. "They got what they deserved."

"Not yet, they haven't," the soldier retorted. "So who was it? _Was it that Snow?!_ "

" _NO!_ " she cried. "It wasn't him! It was... It was three other guys. They've must been tourists, because they were talking about how the women in Bodhum were something or another."

Lightning took deep calming breaths, before placing her hands on Serah's shoulder. "Serah, listen to me carefully... What _exactly_ did they do to you?"

The young girl's gaze fell to her hands. "This bruise was _all_ that they gave me, I _swear._ They could have done worse. I think that... They were going to..." She paused. "Well, they were going to _rape_ me..."

She then looked back at her sister. "But they _didn't!_ Someone _saved_ me! And you won't believe this, but he fought them all off with _one hand!_ He had an arm sling, and this huge sword, but he didn't even _use it!_ He made them all look like _chumps!_ "

Lightning blinked at the mention of an arm sling, as well as the huge sword on his back. "Wait, hold on... What did you say he looked like? The one who saved you?"

The younger Farron blinked twice. "Well... Like I said, he had the big sword, and the arm sling. He... Well, he had platinum hair, and this big, blue coat he wore."

Serah stopped speaking, when she felt her sister's grip on her shoulders loosen. What got her attention, however, was the look of surprise that befell Lightning's features. Confusion became concern, as she watched the soldier lean back on the table.

"Sis, what's wrong?" she asked.

Lightning let out a small laugh, while a look of disbelief was on her features. "I don't believe it... What are the odds?"

The young girl was now confused again. "What?"

"If your description is accurate," Lightning began, finally meeting Serah's eyes again, "Then that means your ' _savior_ ' was the ' _ruffian_ ' that got me late, today."

The girl's eyes widened in surprise at her sister's statement. "Are you _serious?!_ "

"I'm afraid I am," Lightning replied. "Someone's trying to pull a prank on me."

The statement caused Serah to chuckle, which in turn got passed on to her sister. Then, after a few seconds, both sisters began to laugh out loud.

After a good minute of laughter, the girls' sounds died out. Serah held her sides, while Lightning had her hand to the forehead. Despite the dark topic that they had been speaking about moments before, they had found a reason to share a relieving moment together.

"I haven't heard you laugh in _a long time,_ y'know," Serah commented.

Lightning scoffed. "You and me both..."

A moment of silence followed, with both sisters in deep thought. Serah looked at her sister, and noticed that she was staring off into space. It was one of Lightning's confusing habits, but it let her know that she was in the process of going over certain things in their head.

"So, what're you gonna do?" Serah asked. "When you find the ruffian?"

Lightning blinked. "What? Oh..." She took a deep breath, before responding. "Well, he committed a crime, which was shoplifting. He also put his hands on two officers while evading arrest; those are felonies. As good as his actions were today, if we _do_ catch him, he's gonna spend a good amount of time in jail, and be charged."

Lightning internally berated herself, when she saw her sister's expression become sad. "Oh... That's too bad."

"Sorry, but that's my _job,_ " she responded.

Serah nodded her head in reluctant understanding, before looking at her sister, again. "Well, if you ever do find him, could you tell him I said thank you? I didn't get a chance to when I escaped."

The soldier smiled at her. "Yeah... Of course."

Serah smiled back at her, pleased with the answer. "Thanks." She then turned around. "I'm gonna turn in for the night. I just want to forget this all even _happened,_ to be honest."

She was right at the doorway, when her sister's voice halted her. "Serah."

The girl in question looked at her sister. "What is it?"

Lightning had a soft, concerned look in her eyes. "You know that you can tell me _anything,_ right?"

Serah's smile dropped slightly, but not enough to unnerve her sister. The girl reached for her left bicep with her right hand, while giving her a forced smile.

"Yeah... _Of course_ I know that, Light... Goodnight."

Quickly, she turned around and walked upstairs to her room.

Lightning's eyes never left her until the moment she left her sight. Sighing, the soldier tried to come to terms with all that she had heard. Three goons had tried to force themselves onto her sister, and had it not been for the timely arrival of, supposedly, the ruffian, Serah would have been in a much worse position than she was now.

Two things came to mind afterwards. The first was the object of her frustration as of late: NORA's leader, Snow. He had the gall to say to her face that he was going to help her take care of Serah. She never agreed to such a thing, but if he was serious about that, then where had he been when this occurred? This incident only served to prove what Lightning already knew: Snow Villiers _could not_ protect her sister at all. Lightning would make sure to tell Serah that whenever they finally get time together on their vacation.

The second thing was the subject of the ruffian. She knew that he was a wanted man now. Considering how hardly anybody ever committed a crime in Bodhum, let alone do it so openly, everyone in the Security Regiment would be keeping an eye out for him in the next few days. He would probably wait it out, or try his hand at leaving again. Like she had told her sister, it was her job to bring him in, regardless of what he had done for her. It was also important to catch him, considering the abilities he displayed, and the possibility of the mayhem he could potentially cause with them.

That being said, however, she was grateful for what he did for Serah. He was a random stranger, which meant that he did not have to help her, and yet he did so regardless. It felt reassuring, at least in her opinion, that some people would go out of their way to do kind acts as these. For a brief moment, she compared what the ruffian did for Serah with what Team NORA did yesterday during their operation. She then decided that NORA was different, due to them being only a bunch of kids waving guns around and killing monsters; they didn't actually do _anything_ for anybody. The young man, however, had actually _saved_ a person. Though she was still wary as to what his intentions to do so were.

Ultimately, she decided to stop thinking about it, due to the headache it gave her.

But she did know one thing: she would keep her promise to Serah, and personally thank him for his deed. And, Lightning decided, she would give him her thanks as well.

* * *

**-Day 4-**

**-Cocoon-**

**-The Seaside City of Bodhum - Beachside Outlets-**

"How the hell's this supposed to work?"

Nero was leaning against a wall, in a rather secluded part of the outdoor shopping outlets. In his hands was a card he had snatched from the babyface Aleks after he had knocked him and his friends out the previous day.

After dealing with the thugs, the devil hunter had returned to the shore he had awakened in, or at least what he thought was the shore; it was of no consequence if it was or not. When he woke up, he quickly felt the fatigue that came with hunger, and the last time he had eaten was before setting out for Fortuna. However, he was more than apprehensive after the hectic day he had just gone through. Regardless, hunger won over, and Nero decided to go find some food, at his own risk.

He chose to go to the shopping outlets where he had saved the girl from the thugs, with the heavy reminder that going back to the shopping mall was a fool's choice. However, he had another problem: he had to make sure that he did not stand out as much as he already did with his blue coat. His red hood over his head could help hide his face, and his sling could make him pass off as an injured citizen, but there was still the problem of the weapons on his person. The boy, after carefully thinking to himself, came to the conclusion that he was not going out there unarmed, and that his Blue Rose was small enough to be hidden underneath his coat. Unfortunately, the Red Queen was not, which meant that it would have to stay behind, much to his dismay.

Upon examining the surrounding of his "campsite," since he was actually using that spot in the wilderness to rest, he saw that there were large stones near the entrance into the jungle inland, and next to them were big brushes of leaves that were big enough to hide his sword in. The only problem left was to remember which stone was in front of the bush, so that he could remember it when he came back. He quietly formulated ideas in his head, after which he came with a brilliant solution.

He did not have to remember which stone was in front of the bush, just make one stone different than the rest. And since the people of the town only understood their own language, Nero hoped that leaving an indentation in English would be enough to sway people away. Using his sword, he carved the first thing that came to his mind, which were the initials " ** _DMC_ _._** " Then, he placed his Red Queen in the bush in front of it.

With that problem out of the way, he began his trek to the shopping outlets. Money would not be an issue, seeing that he had taken gil from the thugs after he beat them.

However, he made sure to not attract any attention to himself. He walked along walls, and took extra care to look over his shoulder to spot any officers, in case they actually _were_ looking for him. Considering he evaded arrest, and made two officers look like amateurs, in his opinion, they were most likely hoping to catch him in order to save face.

Which led him to where he was now. While leaning against a wall, he decided to see how much money, or "gil" as they called it, he had. Rummaging through his pocket, he pulled out the card that belonged to Aleks, and examined it.

"It's a card; maybe a credit card," he mused.

The solid piece of plastic was gray, with a black circle in the middle. Curious, Nero pressed it with the thumb of his left hand, and the result made him blink in awe. The card's gray color faded away, until it became clear and transparent to the point that Nero could see his fingers on the other side of the card. Then, a hologram appeared above the card, which displayed Aleks' face.

This, in turn, made the demon hybrid frown with realization. "Aw, crap... I can't use this if it's just gonna show that loser's _face._ They'll _know_ this ain't mine!" he hissed.

He was about to throw it away, when a strange sound came to his ears. The strong noise of flapping wings came from above, breaking the silence of the otherwise quiet walkway. Blinking, Nero looked up, but was greeted with a striking surprise. Quickly, he ran around a corner into n alleyway, and sure enough, the flapping wings stopped. The demon hunter's face fell into a scowl, as he saw the source of the noise sitting on the top of the wall to the boy's left.

It was the silver owl that had tossed him into the portal.

" _You!_ " he scowled, walking towards the wall with furious intentions. " _You're_ the one that's responsible for getting me into that portal!"

The owl merely tilted its head, watching the boy with a fixated stare.

"Do you know what kind of shit you put me through, yesterday?!" he questioned. "Because of you, I'm stuck _here_ , while Dante and the others are off _finishing the job!_ Now, you better tell me how to get the hell out of here, or else you're gonna _pay!_ "

The creature blinked.

"Did you even hear me?! I said _answer me!_ " he demanded.

Then, the owl flapped its wings, and the flew off of the wall. " _Hey!_ " Nero nearly shouted.

He would have taken out his gun, but a slight electrical shock zapped his hand. Gritting his teeth, he dropped the card in his hand, certain that the zap came from it. Looking down, the former knight saw that the card was back to its dormant, gray state. Hissing, Nero warily reached down for it, and picked it up, relieved when it didn't shock him again. He was still apprehensive, however, as he was worried the card had some fingerprint security measure that alerted police to theft.

Taking a deep breath, Nero pressed the button again, and saw the card revert to its transparent form. When the card displayed the holographic image, however, the image of Aleks' face was gone. To is surprise, the image was replaced with a blank space. He blinked in confusion, before turning his attention back to the owl flying around in circles above him.

"This thing's screwin' with me," he growled.

Finally, the owl flew out of Nero's sight, this chagrin.

" _Hey!_ " he called. But it was useless, as the creature was gone.

Snarling in frustration, Nero's eyes fell back to the card in his hand. Moments before, it had the thug's face all over it. Now it was gone. Perhaps now, he could finally use it without rousing too much suspicion. However, a part of him felt that this new advantage was the result of the silver owl.

Was it monitoring him? Helping him only when it seemed convenient? Taking this, as well as the owl's appearance, into consideration, Nero knew that the owl was more than it appeared.

"Something tells me that it knows more than it lets on," he mused. "But what?"

He stood there, thinking about the creature even further, when his stomach growled. Placing his hand on his tummy, he frowned sheepishly.

"Guess that'll have to wait 'til later," he concluded. "Still. Can't let my guard down."

With renewed resolve, Nero walked out of the alleyway with a more wary demeanor than before.

* * *

Vanille was ripped away from her thoughts with a jolt and a shrilly shriek, when something cold touched her forehead.

"Wow, someone's really jumpy today," Fang observed lightheartedly.

The girl pouted. "Well, I can't help but be a little jumpy when I'm caught by surprise."

The older girl laughed, while lifting one of the cans in her hands. "Here, I bought us something to drink."

Vanille took the can, and examined it. She then heard a small popping sound from Fang's direction, and saw that she had opened the can by pulling on a tab at the top of the lid. The younger girl did the same, and was met the the same result. Fang had already started drinking from her can, so she proceeded to do so as well.

Fang took sighed with satisfaction. "Asked for the sweetest thing they had, and got exactly that. It's not bad."

Vanille nodded in agreement. "It really _is!_ Where did you get these, again?"

"Bought them in a shop with this," she answered, while lifting her left hand to show the thin, plastic card they had taken from those two men from the "You-Knee-Verse-City."

"It took me a while to figure it how to use it, but I got the gist of it after watching people use them in the shops I passed by. And what do you know? It actually works. Which means we don't have to worry about money around here," Fang explained.

Vanille took another sip. "So these people _don't_ have money after all?"

"Nah, they do," Fang corrected. "I saw people using coins in the shop I was in to buy some goods. Even saw some kids buy sweets with their own coin. This thing probably lets you buy things when you don't have money on you right then and there."

The girl tilted her head in confusion. "This is confusing..."

"...Yeah, I can't make much sense of it, either," Fang admitted. " _But!_ I saw a weapons shop around here. So we can use this card to get some when we need to fight."

Upon hearing the word "fight," a sense of dread overcame the girl. "Fight? But... It's sort of peaceful here... Plus, those men yesterday weren't exactly as strong as we are. There's no reason for us to fight _right now,_ is there?"

The older woman hummed to herself in thought. Despite them being outdoors, Vanille could hear the sound of Fang's fingertips continuously thrumming against the can in her hand. Finally, her pensive expression changed into an agreeable one.

"Yeah... Good point. This place _is_ too quiet and peaceful... Maybe we really don't have to fight, after all," she concluded.

The girl smiled. "Yeah. No fighting. I like that."

"Don't get _too_ relaxed, now," Fang cautioned. "We still have a problem. If we're not supposed to fight, then how're we supposed to fulfill our Focus? I'm not gonna stand around and wait until the last minute. The sooner we figure it out, the better."

And just as quickly as it had left, Vanille's sense of dread returned in full force. The Focus. Fang had brought it up again, as usual. It seemed that every time she tried to forget, it would just keep coming back when she felt comfortable to do without it.

Even then, though, there was little comfort to be had. Fang was worried for her. She knew that. She knew why. The Focus that came with the burden that she alone bore. And the problem with that burden was that there was a set time limit that it had to be done under. And the consequences of that failure were dire.

And yet, the girl feared that the consequences of success were even more drastic.

"So, have we decided to go to the fal'Cie tour, tomorrow?"

Both of the girls' attention quickly went to the direction of that voice. They saw a trio of elder women, walking by them while discussing plans with themselves. What got their attention was the topic they spoke of.

"But, couldn't we just go to Euride on the day _before_ we leave for home?" one asked.

Another shook her head. "No. The Fireworks Festival is around that time. The train cars will be too packed, by then."

"Should we get a private car? I hear they're fancy! If we all pitched in, we should be able to afford it," said the third.

"No, the cheap car should be fine," said the first lady. "I forget, what are the train times?"

"There should be departure times at Bodhum Station," the second lady assured.

The third lady smiled. "So we're decided then? Good. Let's head for the shopping mall, girls. My daughter asked me to go get her some necklaces from there..."

Fang's eyes intently watched the women walk off into other parts of the outlets, before turning away in thought. Needless to say, Vanille did not like the look in her eyes.

"They said 'Euride.' That's what they called the place, right?" Fang asked.

"Yeah," Vanille answered.

"And they said the fal'Cie was there, right?"

"Yes," she repeated, not feeling comfortable with where the conversation was going.

Fang thought to herself for a minute longer, before reaching her inevitable conclusion. "What do you say we pay this fal'Cie a visit?"

The dread hit the girl tenfold. "We're gonna go see the fal'Cie?!"

"Why not?" Fang responded. "From the looks of it, this fal'Cie is a Cocoon fal'Cie. And if it's nearby, it may have something to do with our Focus. Or, if we're lucky, seeing it may help me get my memories back, and remember what our Focus is!"

A frown was etched onto the young girl's face, but she tried her best to look away from Fang in order to conceal it.

"I dunno, but _something_ has to happen... I just feel it."

"But... But you heard what those women said! They said that they were taking a train to this place! It must be very far!" she argued.

"Doesn't matter," Fang answered resolutely. "I'll cross the land, sea, _and_ sky if it means getting my memories back..."

Now the girl was very worried. Fang was always known to make exaggerated resolutions to prove how serious she was about something. It was something Vanille often admired her for. However, considering what they had just been talking about, she worried about just what "crossing the land, sea, or sky" was in Fang's opinion.

Vanille knew one thing: she didn't want this to happen. She didn't want to fight the fal'Cie. She didn't want to fight at all. Fighting ended with pain and misery. She did not want to cause any pain to these people, who were so harmless and peaceful.

This was not right.

"But... What if it costs a lot of money?" she inquired further, in a final attempt to dissuade her friend. "I mean, that card alone might not be able to get us into the train..."

Fang only laughed. "Is _that_ what you're afraid of? Van, even if we don't have enough money, there's _lots_ of ways to get some more."

The woman patted the girl's shoulder reassuringly, unaware that it was anything but. "Trust me, it'll be okay. C'mon. Let's go to this train station. Get ourselves some answers."

With that Fang stood up, and motioned for Vanille to follow. She took a deep breath, resigning herself to the fact that her friend was firm in her decision, and would not be changing her mind any time soon. It was how things usually went when Fang had made up her mind about something. She stood up, and motioned for her friend to lead the way.

As Fang took her first steps, however, she did not see the person looking over his back approach her, until they had both collided with each other. Neither of them fell to the ground, but it did serve to irritate the woman.

"Hey, watch where you're goin', _mate!_ " she snapped, before continuing her trek.

"Sorry! _Geez..._ " Nero apologized.

Vanille briefly looked back at him, and mouthed " _Sorry!_ " before running after Fang.

Nero groaned as he began to continue his search for food, but immediately halted when he felt a feeling in his right arm. Looking down, he felt his Devil Bringer going off with a lot more fervor than before. It was still hidden beneath his cast, but it was very hard to ignore. Blinking, he looked back at the two women. He realized, at that moment, that his Bringer went off when he came into contact with them.

 _'First the girl from yesterday, and now those two. Something's messin' with my arm,'_ he thought to himself.

He would have dwelled on it a bit more, but an ugly sight was caught in the corner of his eyes. He saw two men in uniforms similar to that of the soldier from yesterday's coming around a corner. He cursed to himself, and quickly hid behind a food cart nearby. The young hunter waited until they passed, and when they did, he finally got out of his crouch.

"Phew. Close one..."

Nero's luck had not changed at all. Apparently, the outlets were also being watched by the police, and they traveled in twos. He highly doubted that they were looking for him, but the events of yesterday probably elicited an order for them to keep an eye out. So far, it was keeping him on his toes, and they weren't giving him an opening to go look for food. And the fact that he could not read the signs over the shops was even more difficult.

 _'All this for an arm sling and tape? A bit ridiculous, don't you think?'_ he thought to himself. _'Then again, I_ did _evade arrest..._ And _push one of their officers..._ Two _of their officers...'_

"Uh, excuse me, sir?"

Nero froze briefly, but then quickly relaxed when he realized the voice was that of an adolescent. Turning around, his eyes spotted a teenage boy, about two heads shorter than him, with platinum hair and combed in a way similar to his own, but had light blue-green irises. He had a orange-yellow jacket with short sleeves, a black shirt underneath, and green patterned neckerchief. He had green cargo pants, with a pair of gloves on his hands, with a yellow wristband on his left hand, and a pair of beige sneakers on his feet.

Nero arched an eyebrow at the unassuming boy. "Can I help you?"

"Yeah. I was wondering if you've seen a lady around here?" he asked. "She's my mom, and I kinda lost track of her. If you haven't, then do you know where the nearby Unicorn Mart is around here?"

Hearing the words "Unicorn Mart" left Nero feeling uneasy, as he recalled his previous experience with the place. In response, he simple looked around the area, with his hand pointing at random directions.

Eventually, he gave up. "Sorry, kid. I'm, uh, kinda not from here, so I don't really know where these places are. Sorry."

The boy nodded in understanding. "Oh, I see... Well, thanks anyway."

Before the boy left, however, another voice rose from the crowd. " _Hope!_   _There_ you are!"

Facing the direction of the voice, Nero saw a woman heading towards them. She had the same platinum-colored hair and light bluish-green eyes as the boy. She wore a cotton, ivory wraparound sweater with off-shoulder sleeves, and beige capri pants on her legs. Brown leather wedge sandals were on her feet. A necklace, with a brown braided lace, and a silver pendant hanging from it was around her neck. A bag full of what Nero saw as food ingredients was slung over her right shoulder.

"Oh, thank _goodness_ I found you," she breathed in relief. "I thought we agreed you would wait up for me at the Unicorn Mart?"

The boy, Hope, rubbed his head sheepishly. "Sorry, Mom. I couldn't find it. But I knew it was somewhere around here, so I figured walking around here might let me spot you, eventually. I only started asking for help right now."

"Really?" she asked, while looking at Nero. "Is that true, young man? I hope my son didn't bother you much..."

"Mom..." Hope whined in slight embarrassment.

The devil hunter grimaced slightly at being called a "young man," which to him was the same as being called a "kid." But seeing that it was from someone of no consequence, he let it slide.

"Nah. Like the kid said, he _barely_ got to ask me a question when you showed up," he replied truthfully. "Seems like an alright kid."

To Nero's confusion, the woman had not actually replied immediately. Yet, she kept staring at him oddly. It was similar to how that soldier had done the previous day, but it was also different, somewhat.

Her reverie was cut short when her son cleared his throat. "Uh, Mom... You're _staring._ "

The woman blinked, regaining her senses. "What? Oh. _OH!_ Oops! I'm sorry. I don't usually stare off into space like that!" She then smiled, and then extended her left hand. "Thank you. I'm Nora, by the way. And this is my son, Hope."

Nero was taken aback, both by the courteous gesture and her odd behavior moments go. But he quickly reminded himself to take her hand, and return said courtesy. After all, these two had not caused him any trouble.

"Name's Nero," he introduced, shaking her hand with his own hand. He then waved at Hope, who returned it.

"So, you don't look like a local," Nora observed. "Are you visiting Bodhum, too?"

Nero grinned, and rubbed his nose with his left hand. "Heh, you could say that. Haven't exactly gotten used to the new scenery. I've been trying to find some place to eat around here."

"Oh well, the food court is just down this area, here. I'm sure you could get something to eat there," she informed.

Nero smiled, glad to see that things were finally going his way for once. " _Really?_ Thanks for the heads up! I appreciate that."

Unfortunately, Nero had to end the conversation there. The patrol that had passed him a while ago was returning back to the area, which meant that the former knight had to leave.

"Er, sorry. I just remembered that I had to go meet someone! Gotta go; _later!_ " he explained, waving his hand at the mother and son duo, before hurriedly walking away.

Nora smiled to herself. "He seemed nice."

Hope looked back at her. "What _was_ that, back there? You were staring at him for a while..."

Sighing, his mother just shook her head. "Nothing. It... Just lost focus for a sec. Don't worry about it."

The boy continued to scrutinize her, before shrugging it off. "So, did you get the ingredients you wanted?"

His mother nodded. "Yep. This should last us for tonight. We'll have to go get more tomorrow, before your father gets here."

The boy instantly frowned at hearing that. " _Oh..._ Good, I guess..."

* * *

**-Day 5-**

**-Cocoon-**

**-Euride Gorge - Euride Station-**

The train doors opened, and its passengers exited casually from the train car. Among them were a mixture of tourists, who were visiting from Bodhum, and workers who were employed at the energy plant near the volcano.

Two of these passengers had just gotten out; it was a father-son duo. Both of them were dark-skinned, had an afro hairstyle on their heads, and had dark-brown eyes.

However, the father's afro had a flatter top than the son's afro, and he had goatee on his face. He wore an olive coat, which hid a white buttoned-down shirt underneath. He also wore beige khaki trousers and black buckled-engineer boots on his feet.

The son wore a set of dusky pink dungaree overalls over a light blue-green zipped jacket and trousers, with a white polo-neck shirt underneath. On his feet were a pair of tan, leather shoes.

" _C'mon,_ Dad! Let's go see the fal'Cie!" the boy laughed, as he ran off of the car.

" _Whoahoho,_ slow down kiddo!" the man called. "You gotta stick with me! C'mon."

The duo walked off deeper into the station, set on their objective. Right after them, Fang and Vanille walked out of the train. Both of the foreign girls were still in awe after that experience.

"I can't _believe_ it! That thing was _so_ fast!" Vanille exclaimed. "I guess the train ride doesn't take a few days, after all."

" _Seriously!_ " Fang laughed. "It was so wicked! The thing didn't even have _wheels._ These trains ain't like the ones at home, that's for sure."

Vanille giggled at how true the statement rang. "Wow... I wonder what else they have here that we also have at home?"

Fang chuckled, amused by the statement, and somewhat curious herself. However, her smile slowly fell, and became focused.

"Well, let's talk about that afterwards. We've got a fal'Cie to meet," she reminded quietly.

The Focus. Once again, it followed Vanille wherever she went. And now, she feared what trying to complete it, in this very place where everything seemed volatile, would result in.

The people there did not know them, nor did they know what they truly were. They did not know what was going to happen, and the risk of them getting caught in the middle of it. People could get hurt. People could die. And it would be their fault.

Vanille didn't want to do this. She didn't care if she paid the price for failure, if it meant not having to hurt these people. She so desperately wanted to run. But she couldn't do that to Fang. She couldn't abandon her, even if it meant saving herself, or vice-versa. Vanille didn't have the courage or heart to do that.

"Once we complete our Focus, we can go home... _Right,_ Vanille?" Fang asked, with an uncertain tone.

The girl looked at Fang, realizing for the first time that, despite her brave face, was also a bit uncertain as to what would happen when all was said and done. In response, she grabbed her hand, and held it tightly.

"We'll get to go home... We _will..._ "

* * *

**-to be continued in the next mission-**

* * *

Mission 5: No Obligations, Rules, or Authority 

An incident in Euride sends panic across Cocoon. The City of Bodhum is closed off in an attempt to catch those responsible. Amidst the panic, Nero comes across a beachside bar, owned by a group of youths operating in the city. However, a misunderstanding may lead to more trouble in Nero's path. Will he he make it through this bout of misfortune, or has his short stroke of luck finally run out? 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to leave a comment, subscribe, and a kudos!


	6. Mission 5: No Rules, Obligations, or Authority

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Revised on FF.Net: 6-30-15

 

* * *

**Mission 5: No Obligations, Rules, or Authority - Euride Gorge**

* * *

**-Euride Gorge - Commercial Plaza-**

" _C'mon,_ Daddy! Let's go, _let's go!_ "

"He-hey, slow _down,_ Dajh. That fal'Cie ain't going anywhere!"

A young boy, Dajh, tugged on his father's hand as they walked past multiple tourists. Like them, they were all looking around the plaza at all of the surrounding souvenir shops. Once the child was satisfied, or tired, they would both make their way to the Energy Plant, where they would finally get to do what they came there to do: see a real life fal'Cie up close and personal.

It was another day in the life of Sazh Katzroy, the boy's father.

Sazh was dark-skinned, and had dark-brown irises. The man had an afro hairstyle with a flat top, and a goatee on his face as well. He wore an olive coat, which hid a white buttoned-down shirt underneath. Below his waist was a pair of beige khaki trousers and black buckled-engineer boots on his feet.

His son Dajh was also dark-skinned, with the same dark-brown eyes as his father. He also had an afro hairstyle, but it was fully round, compared to his father's flatter top. The boy wore a set of dusky pink dungaree overalls over a light blue-green zipped jacket and trousers, with a white polo-neck shirt underneath. On his feet were a pair of tan, leather shoes.

This whole adventure of theirs began one day when his son told him that he wanted to go see a fal'Cie in person. Sazh did not remember when he had told him this, but he did know that the boy _had_ told him. Ever since then, he had tried to find some time off from his occupation as a commercial air pilot to take Dajh on such a trip. In his spare time, he would search around in local bulletin boards, or look up ads on the Retail Networks for offers on vacation packages.

To his fortune, he found such a deal titled _**"Family Vacation: A Tour of Bodhum and Euride."**_ The package contained reserved seating on the airship, as well as a reserved hotel room for both of them to stay in. The tour also allowed time in between for tourists to go out and explore the sites in their own free time. Another added bonus, to his wallet's delight, was that there was a child discount that they were eligible for, since Dajh was still 6 years old. The package was a steal in the older man's opinion, and he felt that the experience would be fun for both him and his son.

Ever since his wife had died of illness three years prior, the pilot had been trying to do his best to be a good father to his son. He made sure not to spoil him so much, but when his son worked for it, Sazh would do something that would make Dajh extremely happy. He would always get so giddy and jumpy; the boy would always go telling his father how excited he was, saying it over and over, because children would often say whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted. And most of the time it was the truth. If the boy said he was happy, then he really was happy.

And Sazh was even happier to make Dajh happy.

Which is how they ended up there in the Commercial Plaza. Due to experience, Sazh knew that whenever they walked around in shopping areas, Dajh would always want to look around. The older man was in no rush to see the fal'Cie, so it was a good way to pass the time. It helped to get the boy even more anxious to see it.

"No, Dad, Let's go now! _Right now!_ C'mon!" Dajh urged, as he tugged on Sazh's arm.

"Oka- _okaaay!_ " the man laughed.

Say what you will about the boy, but for a six-year old, Dajh had a very strong grip. This notion was proven true, when Dajh suddenly took a turn to the left, dragging his father along with him. Though Sazh did not fall to his knees, all of the sharp turns left him winded.

" _Wooow..._ " Dajh whispered, as he leaned against a glass window with his eyes focused on what was on the other side. Sazh, after taking a quick breather, looked up as well, and merely smiled at what he saw. Behind the glass were small cages that displayed animals. He saw small birds, lizards,even some insects. The most audible and rambunctious of the animals where the Chocobos that were flitting excitedly around the cages.

Sazh figured that if anything could have caught the boy's attention, it would have been those adorable little chicks. His son was _obsessed_ with Chocobos. He went to sleep with blankets and bed sheets that had pictures of Chocobos on them. He had a Chocobo towel, a Chocobo plush toy when he went to sleep, and he also had coloring books with Chocobos on the pages. If he was a psychic, Sazh would predict that Dajh may become a Chocobo freak in the future.

The boy's voice broke him away from his thoughts. "Dad... Let's get one."

Sazh blinked, as he looked back at his son somewhat incredulously. "Come again?"

The boy turned his head towards the older man, whilst pointing at the glass with his left index finger. "Yeah, let's get one! Let's get _that one,_ right there!"

Dajh's father looked back at the glass screen, realizing that his boy wanted a pet. He shook his head in amusement, with his hands on his hips. Dajh certainly was going to try the patience of his pockets. It was not that he did not have enough money in his Credit ID. He just didn't want to waste more than he needed to.

The pilot decided to try his luck. "C'mon, now. Why don't we get one after we see the fal'Cie. I'll get it for you when we head back to leave."

The father should have known that his son would disagree. "No, Dad! Let's get it, now! _Right now!_ "

Dajh then tugged at Sazh's hands again, eliciting a laugh from the older man. Relenting to the boy's demands, Sazh thought about what the possibility of getting a Chocobo represented. It would be a good opportunity to teach Dajh a lesson in responsibility, not that the boy had ever misbehaved in his classes or at home. And the boy _had_ been doing good in school, as of late. It couldn't hurt to spoil him a _little_ bit, could it?

"Alright, alright!" he relented, as he kneeled down to the boy's level before holding a finger up. "But _only_ for this _one time,_ okay?"

Hearing those words made Dajh smile even wider, which turned to be contagious, as Sazh did it as well.

Standing up, Sazh examined the animals in the small cages. "Alright. So which one are we taking with us?"

Sazh's son wasted no time in making his choice. "There! The yellow one, right there!"

"Which one?" he asked, as his eyes scanned the rows of cages, looking for whatever the "yellow one" was.

For brief moment, the pilot's eyes fell on a yellow creature, but was one that left him slightly panicked. Inside on cage was a small creature, that was entirely made of a gooey, gelatinous substance. It had a pair of white eyes, and had a small branch extending out of the top of its head. Sazh knew this creature as a Flan, and it made him grimace and recoil when a bubble on its body popped, and stained the window with some of its goo.

The store also sold other monsters like the Flan, which were generally wild species that the likes of the Guardian Corps had to take out. However, thanks to genetic engineering on the government's part, humans were able to take away the genes in the animals that made them aggressive to humans, which allowed them to be domesticated into pets.

Harmless or not, Sazh seriously hoped that the Flan was not the "yellow one" his son was referring to.

"Uhh... You're not talking about _that_ yellow one... Are you Dajh?" he inquired nervously.

A voice of a man laughing was heard to the right, and both son and father turned to see the store's vendor, who wore a white shirt underneath a green apron, and a flamboyant Chocobo cap.

"Are you, by any chance, referring to _this_ 'yellow one?'" he asked, before making a flapping motion with his two hands.

That, in turn, made the little boy laugh. "Hehe, yeah!" He then preceded to do the same flitting motion with his own hands.

The vendor shook his head. "Let me tell ya, anytime someone here asks for a 'yellow one,' they're almost _always_ talking about the Chocobos. They tend to be very popular, nowadays. We just got a new shipment from Bodhum today, so you guys are in luck! And since you guys are my first customers today, I'll give you guys a _discount!_ "

Sazh sighed in relief, glad that he was not going to buy his son a Flan. "Yeah... A Chocobo. Right... I guess it's our lucky day, huh son?"

Dajh nodded in agreement.

"Well, in that case, we'll take one of your yellow Chocobos," the pilot confirmed.

"Alright. If you'll please follow me inside," he gestured, as he walked back into the shop.

The older man then gestured at his son. "C'mon, Dajh. Let's go get you your Chocobo."

Dajh, however, had another idea. "Uh-uh! I wanna wait for you out here!"

Hearing this, Sazh arched an eyebrow. Not because he was worried about whether or not his son was starting to get more bravado, but because he had already gone through a similar situation before. Whenever Sazh went out on errands with Dajh, there were times when he had to leave him alone in one spot, so that he can finish the errand. Every time, he would warn his son to stay put and not talk to any strangers while he waited. Surprisingly, Dajh followed through with his instructions.

It was only until the previous year, that Dajh began to do something different. When Sazh came for his son after one errand, he had heard his son's giggles from behind a pot plant not too far from where Sazh had told him to be. Ever since then, Dajh would always play a game of hide-and-seek with him after he leaves him alone for a short period. Clearly, Dajh wanted play hide-and-seek after he brought back the chocobo.

Knowing how this scenario always played out, Dajh's father acknowledged his request. "Alright, son. You wait here, while I go get your pet."

He then knelt down to Dajh's level, giving him the same explanation as always. "Now remember, I want you to sit tight right _here._ In _this very spot._ Got it?" he asked. "And I don't want you talking to strangers, either. _Understand_ , Dajh?"

The boy nodded enthusiastically, failing to hide the mischievous glimmer in his eyes.

With that, Sazh stood up, and briefly walked towards the entrance of the shop. Before entering, however, he turned around to look back at his son.

"Remember! Stay there, in _that_ same spot! Understand?"

The boy nodded. "Got it, Dad!"

Sazh squinted his eyes at the boy, before pointing his left index and middle fingers towards his eyes, and then pointing them back at his son, telling the boy "I'm watching you." Finally, he walked inside.

**-Euride Pet Shop-**

The afro-haired man spotted the vendor at the back of the shop. He was already unlocking a cage.

"Alright, sir. One yellow Chocobo, coming right-"

As soon as the cage door was fully open, a round baby Chocobo flew right out of it. It had yellow feathers all over its body, with tiny little wings that flapped rapidly to stay afloat. Its beak and talons were light orange, and a pair of round, small black eyes watched the older man, as it fluttered around his head multiple times.

The vendor laughed at the cute scene, as he closed the cage it was in. "Aww, I think that chick's taken a liking to you!"

Sazh blinked at the man's remark, feeling slightly disoriented due to the Chocobo Chick fluttering around his head. "It's taken a liking to me, has it? Pardon me, but I can't really tell, with my head spinning as it is!" he retorted.

Suddenly, the baby chick stopped right in front of the pilot's face. Sazh's eyes met the little bird's, as it blinked at him while cocking its head to the side.

"Huh," he muttered."Y'know, up close... You're actually kinda cute."

As soon as he said those words, the Chocobo Chick let out a loud chirp, before diving towards Sazh's head. The man's eyes went wide, as he raised his hands to protect himself. However, after a few seconds, he opened his eyes to see the Chick gone.

"What the... Where'd that thing- _OW!_ "

The man felt a sharp pain coming coming from his head, and deep inside his afro. A chirp was heard from the hair, indicating that the Baby Chick had settled itself inside.

" _HEY!_ Don't you be using your claws on me like that, you hear me!" Sazh scolded. His response was a peck to the head. " _OW!_ "

The vendor only laughed. "Wow, you're weird... So, you wanna buy this thing?"

Sazh sighed. "Yeah, sure... Let's get this over with- _OW!_ _I SAID STOP IT!_ "

**-Commercial Plaza - Two Minutes Later-**

After paying for the Chocobo, as well as signing some papers, the Chocobo Chick was now legally Sazh and Dajh's, much to the man's chagrin. The older man hurriedly walked out of the store, hoping to surprise his boy with the sight of his new Chocobo friend.

As expected, however, Dajh was not where he should have been standing.

Sazh put his hands on his hips and shook his head in amusement, while the Baby Chocobo peered its head out of the top of his afro.

"Oh, Dajh?" Sazh called. "Are we playing hide-and-seek, now?"

He was met with no response, as usual. "Alright, then. Ready or not, here I come!"

Sazh never really needed to look too far when it came to hide-and-seek with Dajh. Usually, he would be hiding behind a trash can, or be crouching underneath the bench. Sometimes, he would be able to find him after hearing the boys giggles echo around his hiding spot. But he also knew that Dajh never left his spot until Sazh had found him. The reason why this was was because the boy wanted his father to carry him and hug him after the game was over. Time would make the boy older soon enough, so the pilot relished every opportunity he had to carry and hug him while he still could.

After a few minutes, Sazh had walked around the area, looking around the area near the pet shop. He did not see Dajh at all, which meant the boy had won the game.

"Alright, son!" Sazh called. "It looks like I can't find you! I give up! You win!"

The afro-haired man chuckled to himself, as he waited for his son to pop up and surprise him. A whole minute passed, and the boy still had not shown up.

"Hehe, okay, Dajh. You won, I lost. You can come out, now! I won't be mad," he called again, albeit somewhat warily.

The man waited for a good two minutes. In that span of time, the only thing that came to his ears was the sounds of the distant Energy Plant at work, as well as the voices of he tourists,workers and other people around him. But not once did he hear the sound of his son's laughter.

Now he was starting to get worried.

"Dajh?" he called again, albeit more loudly this time.

The afro-haired man walked over to a nearby trash bin, and looked around it. Dajh was not there.

"Son, _where are you?!_ " he called.

Moving about the area, Sazh searched over may places that could be potential hiding spots for the boy. He looked underneath all of the nearby benches in the area. Unfortunately, the afro-haired boy was not there. He then made his way over to the other stalls and shops in the plaza, making sure to inspect any possible corner to see if the boy was hiding behind it. To his growing displeasure, Dajh was _still_ nowhere to be found.

Sazh stood in the middle of the plaza, with a scared and worried expression on his face. He should not have left the boy on his own. What if somebody had taken him? What if somebody had already shoved him back in the train, so that they could take the boy to parts unknown? Every possible theory that ran to his head scared the man by the second. One thing was for certain: no more hide-and-seek in public anymore.

"Damn it, son, where'd you _go?_ " he hissed to himself, as he rubbed the back of his neck with his hands.

It was then, that his eyes fell on the one pathway he had yet to check. The man stared widely at the corridor that lead to the fal'Cie in the Energy Plant.

"Oh, Dajh..." he whispered anxiously. "Please don't tell me that you went in _there!_ "

* * *

**-Energy Plant-**

Vanille rubbed her hands together nervously, as they walked deeper into the corridor. Most of the time, her eyes only watched as her feet moved her onward; she could feel a sensation deep within her that hoped that they would stop. Occasionally, she looked up to her friend walking forward unflinchingly. She could only assume that the look on her face was one that would make others see her as fearless.

And yet, there were a few times where the girl found herself looking at the dormant form of the woman's weapon on her back.

**-Fal'Cie Lookout-**

Both women finally arrived to the end of the corridor, and found a large circular room. In the center of it was a small circular glass on the floor that allowed the viewer to see the lava flowing far below. In front of the two girls, above the benches that were set against them, were large rectangular windows that displayed the plant's main attraction: the energy production fal'Cie, Kujata.

The being was located a long distance from the platform, and was seemingly floating slightly close to the lava falls. The fal'Cie was large, but did not display a large body; it looked like a humongous floating head. It had what looked like two horns, one on each side of the object. On the bottom part of the fal'Cie was a long metal snout, with two small spires and two big spires along its length. In the two gaps between the horns and the snout, were two floating objects, that resembled eyes from a distance. On them were three lenses, each with three different sizes.

The girls walked to the center of the room, eyeing the being from afar.

"I guess... That's the fal'Cie, then," Vanille observed.

"Yeah, guess it is," Fang muttered.

The older girl's eyes stared holes into the fal'Cie. After a few seconds, her stare became more focused. She then strained to feel something, growling to herself, much to Vanille's amusement. After a whole minute of forcing herself to feel something, Fang let out a frustrated sigh.

"Damn it! I'm not rememberin' anything!"

Vanille arched her eyebrow. "You thought just _looking_ at the fal'Cie would make you remember?"

"Yeah. Or at least do _something..._ " Fang lamented with a shrug. "I thought it might trigger my lost memories. I guess just lookin' at it ain't helping."

She then turned towards Vanille. "What about you, Van? Are you feeling any different? Any memories coming up?"

As the words registered in her ears, Vanille felt a chill go down her spine. The feeling impacted her senses very heavily, that she almost forgot to answer Fang.

"Oh... Well... Not really. I'm not getting that either," she reported.

Vanille walked over to the window of the chamber, placing her hands on the railing. In truth, she didn't want to look at Fang, for she feared that she may give anything away. She heard Fang's footsteps behind her, and she mustered up the courage look back at her friend.

"So you're sure you got _nothing?_ " she inquired again. "Nothing? Anything at all?"

Vanille merely shook her head, making an effort to not look at Fang.

" _Shit..._ " she cursed, as she stood next to Vanille. "And here I was thinkin' that this fal'Cie might be the answer to our problems... That it might trigger _something..._ "

The younger girl shrugged. "It's useless... I don't remember anything..."

Silence followed afterwards, as the implications of the result of their trip became apparent to them. The fal'Cie gave them no clues as to their purpose, nor did it trigger any hidden memories. It was just another wild goose chase.

Vanille briefly glanced over at Fang. The girl's hands were on her hips, drumming rhythmically. Her lips were pursed in thought, with her eyes showing a similar determination. The girl knew that Fang was thinking of what to do next. It was one of the things she was best at. It was not that Vanille did not usually think of solutions to problems when they came to her. There were times when she had to think of ways out of her dilemmas on her own. It was just that Fang was the half of the duo that, more often than not, was responsible for making the hard calls.

It was that idea, perhaps, that Vanille hoped would convince her friend. "Fang... Let's just go."

The woman in question blinked, before quickly turning her head towards Vanille. " _What?!_ "

"Let's go, Fang," Vanille urged. "I mean, think about it. What's the Focus even matter, now?"

Perhaps the girl should have known better. Fangs reaction was just as expected. She banged her fist against the window, showing just exactly how she felt about the suggestion. Vanille could have sworn she heard a lava spout go off outside.

" _'What's it matter?!'_ Are you suicidal?! Or do you _want_ to become a monster?!" she challenged heatedly.

Vanille hastily shook her head. "N-no! It's not that, it's... It's just that..." The girl looked away from Fang.

The older woman, realizing she had unsettled the girl more than she already was to begin with, mentally cursed at herself. Vanille was also getting the shorter end of the stick as well. She was probably starting to lose hope, since the visit to the plant had come up with nothing. Although that was true so far, it did not mean that they had to leave empty handed.

And Fang was not going to let her only friend go into that goodnight.

Fang sighed, and placed her hand on the girl's shoulder. "Look, it's alright. Keep your chin up. We can't give up, yet."

"Look, the fal'Cie didn't trigger our memories, but that _doesn't_ mean coming here was a waste of time, either," she reassured. "After all, we're Pulse l'Cie, remember? Enemies of Cocoon. That's the only part that matters here."

Fang glanced at Kujata from the side, which allowed Vanille to see that a mischievous glint came to her eyes, and began to show itself in the sly smile of her lips. "And you know what I say, Van? Since looking at the damn thing _can't_ help jump start our memories, maybe raisin' some hell by _fighting_ it _will._ "

Upon hearing this, Vanille quickly faced Fang incredulously. "W-wait, what?!"

The older Pulse l'Cie inched her head towards Kujata, before hopping backwards, and tensing up. "This fal'Cie. Let's _smash_ _it!_ "

Fang then reached for the weapon behind her back. It was a long, red pole on her back. It had a red grip in the middle, with some bronze lining that went over the red grip. There were also three gray, metal rings; one was in the middle, while the other two were closer to both ends. At each end were two poles that had red and black retracted blades, that jutted out as Fang unsheathed it from her back. The blades rotated outward, to reveal that the pole was actually a double-edged lance, with two pointed blades on each end.

With her weapon, the Bladed Lance, in hand, Fang hopped backwards into a fighting stance, holding her weapon with both hands, while she slightly crouched in a position that allowed her to be ready to move.

Vanille began to panic. "W-wait, why?! Fang if we do this, we'll only get in trouble!"

"If we don't, then _you_ turn _Cie'th!_ " she retorted. "I _won't_ let that happen to you!"

The girl's features slightly softened. In that short second, she remembered that Fang was doing this out of desperation, and not out of a sense of duty. If doing something could save the people she cared about, she would do it. Even if it lead to problems or death.

Vanille was not certain that she was capable of doing such a thing. But it seldom mattered now. The girl had tried her hardest to prevent this moment from becoming a reality, and yet it happened regardless of what she had done. There was no point in her trying to avoid it now.

In the end, the Focus took priority over her life.

Relenting to Fang's idea, the younger Pulse l'Cie reached for the fur pelt on her back, which was where she sheathed her own weapon. As she pulled it out, the weapon's components rotated outwards to reveal its form. It was medium-length two-handed rod, that was made out of white bone. The lower handle was covered with an intricate brown leather grip, with a few yellow laces at the its bottom pommel. On the top part of her weapon was a dark-gray handle, that was smaller than the lower one. On that half of the rod, though, was the components that gave it its offensive ability. The head of the rod had three golden-topped reels with sharp, straight spike at its center. Jutting out from the top were two large components, that had the appearance of antlers. On each antler were three sharp, gold hooks that were connected to wires that would fly out if and whenever its wielder whipped her rod forward.

Vanille gripped both handles of her weapon, the Binding Rod, tightly, as she stood next to Fang. Both girls tensely stared at the fal'Cie. Vanille decided that she would not be the one to attack first, and would let the other woman land the first strike. Fang was the only one of them that was more prepared in mind and body to fulfill this task.

But all the preparation in the world would not have been enough to prepare them for what happened next.

"Who are you?" a small voice asked.

The voice made both women jump, which caused them to spin around to confront the voice. Despite the fact that Fang pointed her lance at the one who spoke, even she found herself startled that on the other end was an afro-haired boy.

Dajh blinked curiously, as he stared at the two girls who blinked awkwardly back at him.

It was at the moment, when the offensive party was caught off-guard, that the fal'Cie Kujata made its presence felt. A few seconds after setting their eyes on the boy. The entire foundation began to shake violently. Outside the platform, lava spewed out in geysers, flying several feet up into the air. Black aura surrounded Kujata, before the fal'Cie made a loud sound that most would call a roar if the being had a mouth.

Both women heard it, and quickly faced the being once more. Steam began to fill the room, but it was not hazardous enough to make them cough, or cause them long term damage. The shaking only grew stronger, which made it all the more difficult for them to maintain their balance. Unbeknownst to them, Dajh was having a difficult time staying up, since his small body was not developed enough to balance himself in an earthquake scenario. The young boy fell on his rear seconds after the quaking began.

Afterwards, Kujata let out an even mightier screech, that forced the l'Cie to cover both of their ears.

It was then, that Dajh felt a strong feeling on his right forehand. The feeling felt funny to the boy at first, for it gave him a ticklish sensation. However, within seconds, the feeling disappeared, and was replaced with a stronger, burning one. The boy winced, as the feeling expanded beyond his hand, and down to his arm. It steadily stretched further into his chest, and below his waist. Finally, the pain went to its strongest level, when the sensation stretched out to his entire body.

Tears fell down the boys cheek, as the pain became too much for him. " _DADDY!_ "

Finally, the boy had reached his limit, and passed out on the floor.

Vanille, having heard the boy's cry, quickly looked back at him, to her dire fear. The quaking had begun to die down, which allowed her to stand on her feet without the fear of falling on her knees. The young Pulse l'Cie quickly folded her weapon and sheathed it back on her pelt. The girl hastily ran to the boy's unconscious form.

Her friend took notice of this. "Vanille, _wait!_ " she called, as she hurried after her.

Vanille slid down next to Dajh, and put her hand on his face. She then placed her hand on his right wrist, a felt for a pulse of his heart beat. To her greatest relief that day, the boy was still alive. However, when she reexamined his hand, that relief died as quickly as it came.

On the boy's right forehand was a black mark. There were three lines, two lines being symmetrical to the other, with a thick lining the middle. The two outer curves moved outward twice, before pointing downward like an arrow, while the middle line was shaped in a way that seemed like the outer lines formed it.

Vanille put a hand to her lips, as the horror of their actions had claimed another victim. "Oh no..."

The older woman knelt down next to her when she made it to her friend. "What? What happened?"

Vanille lifted Dajh's limp hand. "Fang, look! He's been _branded!_ The fal'Cie _cursed_ _him!_ "

Fang looked down at the sleeping boy, and her eyes widened at the boy's brand. "Oh _shit..._ "

The girl's hands gripped the sides of her head, as guilt and anxiety began to surface on features. "Fang... What've we _done?_ "

The woman was silent for a brief moment. Eventually, she addressed her friend, hoping to try to reassure her, as well as her own self. "Hey, none that for right now, okay?"

"Why not?!" she snapped, as tears began to form on her eyes. "This is all _our_ fault... We just turned this kid into a l'Cie because of what we tried to do..."

"I _know that,_ Van!" Fang shouted, as the girl's ongoing despair got to her. "But crying about it isn't going to-"

A penetrating sound cut her off, as the sounds of klaxons began to echo throughout the plant.

_"Attention, all civilians and personnel! Emergency evacuation protocol_ has been activated _! All visitors follow the instructions of the Euride Security Regiment, and please make your way to the emergency exits! All civilians will be heading towards the emergency tents being set up! All injured civilians report to the First-Aid Room! Repeat! Emergency evacuation-"_

" _Shit!_ " Fang cursed, as she quickly stood up from her crouch. "Van, we need to go!"

"What?!"

"These people are gonna be lookin' for the ones who caused this. And that's _us!_ " she explained. "We need to hightail it outta here before we're spotted! Now c'mon!"

Vanille, briefly looked down at the boy again, and then back to her fellow l'Cie. "But what about _him?!_ We can't leave him _here!_ "

"Well, there's nothing we can do for him!" she disputed. "The damage's been done, Vanille... Nothing we do right now'll make a lick of a difference."

"But we can't just leave him like this!" she repeated.

"But if we stay here, we'll get _caught!_ "

Vanille bit her lips, as thoughts on what to do next spun around in her head. After a whole minute, which added to Fang's anxious state, Vanille held the boy in her arms, and hurried to one of the benches.

"I'm gonna leave him here on the bench, is that fine?" she reported to other woman.

"Yeah, that's fine. But be quick about it!"

Vanille walked to one of the benches, and knelt down in front of it. She gently laid the boy down on the bench, and afterwards straightened out any imperfections on Dajh's clothes or his legs. When she finished, she took one final moment to hold his marked hand with both of hers. Her eyes dipped sadly with sadness and guilt, while her lips heavily fell into a miserable frown.

Fang walked over to Vanille, taking as long as was necessary in order for Vanille to finish. When she saw that the girl was holding the boy's hand tightly, she gently placed her hand on the girl's shoulder, with the hope that it would reassure her, even if it gave her little comfort.

Despite the raucous sounds of the klaxons and sirens, a loud voice echoed through the sounds. " _DAJH?!_ _DAJH_?! _WHERE ARE YOU?!_ "

Both l'Cie looked over their shoulders, and Fang knew that their time was up. "Time to go! _Now!_ "

Vanille looked up at Fang, and nodded in agreement. She then looked back at the boy's sleeping form, and tightly grasped his hand for the last time.

"I'm sorry..." she whispered, before letting go.

Both women then hurried down the corridor next to the one where the other voice was heard. Fang tugged on Vanille's shoulder to make sure that she kept up with her. Neither looked back, out of fear of being spotted, as well as stopping out of guilt for what had just occurred.

* * *

The heavy sounds of his footsteps were drowned out by the sirens sounding off around him. Yet, despite the warnings repeating over the intercoms, Sazh did not stop for anything nor anyone. At least, anyone that was not his son, Dajh.

After taking a few steps towards the entrance of the Energy Plant, he and practically all of Euride stopped when the tremors began. Steam shot out from the floors and pipes, while everyone went on to start a full-blown panic. Children were crying and screaming, while hugging their parents for a sense of comfort. This made the air pilot's dread grow heavier, as the thought of his son crying and calling for his father became clearer in his mind.

Many people hurriedly ran towards the exits of the plaza, and the afro-haired man pushed himself through the crowd to get to the plant. Some pushed past him, and others cursed at him for getting in their way. But Sazh did not stop. He would not stop until he found Dajh, and made sure that he was safe.

" _DAJH!_ _DAJH_ , _COME OUT HERE_ , _NOW!_ " he called, with his next to his mouth.

Sazh waved his right hand in front of his face, to get the smoke away from it. He coughed heavily for a moment, but regained his composure.

" _DAJH!_ " he shouted once more. " _I KNOW YOU'RE HERE_ , _SON!_ _COME OUT HERE!_ "

" _DAJH,_ _WHERE ARE YOU?!_ " he called. " _SAY SOMETHING,_ _SON!_ "

Coughing into a fit once more, Sazh rubbed his eyes as the smoke began to irritate them. As he bent down with his hands resting on his knees, the Chocobo Chick's head popped out of Sazh's afro. The small chick looked forward, before fluttering out of the man's hair and away from him. Sazh caught this act, and looked at the direction the bird went. Due to the mist slightly subsiding, Sazh spotted the Chocobo flying in circles over a bench.

There, safe and sound, was the sleeping form of his son.

"Dajh!" he called, feeling some his dread starting to go away.

The older man dashed towards the bench, and knelt down in front of his son. Seeing that he was unconscious, Sazh gently, but hurriedly, shook the boy.

"Dajh? Dajh wake up," he whispered anxiously. "Are you okay? What's wrong? _Dajh?!_ "

After shaking the boy a few more times, the young boy began to stir. He shook his head slightly, with eyes furrowing tightly. Then, Dajh slowly opened his brown eyes to the sight of his father.

He squinted, as his vision was still blurry. "Daddy...?"

Sazh sighed in relief, and smiled back at the boy, while the Chocobo Chick chirped happily at the boy's awakening as well. "Hey... Guess we're gonna have to stop playing hide-and-seek like this, huh?"

The air pilot then looked over his son, gently patting him down for any injuries. "Are you alright, son? You're not hurt, or anything like that?"

Sazh's examination proved that Dajh had no visible injury at all. He was almost done checking him, when he spotted something on the boy's hand.

"Huh? What's this?"

Lifting the hand with his own, Sazh examined the black mark on the boy's forehand. It looked like a simple tattoo, which startled the man, because he had never let Dajh do anything of the sort. At first, he thought it was one of those stickers that were clear on the edges that gave off the appearance of a tattoo. However, when he felt the mark, he felt no plastic texture.

After looking at it more, he ultimately determined that the mark would have to wait, for the younger Katzroy would still be in danger so long as they remained where they were. Lifting his son into his arms, Sazh turned around to hurry back to the corridor he came from. The baby Chocobo fluttered around his head, before landing back on his afro.

The pilot did not need to go far, to his relief, as Guardian Corps soldiers from the Euride Security Regiment were running down the corridor he entered. It was a trio of two male soldiers and one female. They were dragging a stretcher along in the event that people were severely injured to the point where they could not walk.

"Sir, is everything alright? Are you okay?" a male soldier asked.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine," Sazh told. "B-but my boy, he-"

"Is he hurt? Any injuries to his head, or something like that?"

Sazh shook his head. "N-no. I just found him here after we got separated, and-"

"Say no more, sir," said the second male. "Let's get him on the stretcher."

Both men unfolded the stretcher, and placed Dajh on top of it. As soon as they did, they began to wheel him off.

"It's alright. Everything's gonna be _fine,_ okay?" the female soldier assured, before looking at the boy's father. "We're heading for the First-Aid Room. Please come this way, sir."

Dajh's father nodded with compliance. "Yeah. Of course."

As they walked down the corridor, Sazh took a sigh of relief, as his eyes watched over Dajh on the way to out of the platform.

"Thank the heavens... My boy is _safe..._ "

* * *

**-Elevator Junction-**

Both women finally managed to get deep into the plant, after a good head start. Unfortunately, they heard the distant sounds of footsteps following them.

Eventually, they found themselves in a round chamber, with another corridor on the opposite side of their own. However, on both their left and their right were grates that protected important pipes that channeled energy out of the plant. A metal column with triangular gaps was in the middle of the room that went down beneath the floor through a circular gap on it. Inside the rectangular column were more pipes. To their left was a circular elevator, which was opened and unoccupied.

Fang took heavy breaths, as her eyes looked back at the corridor they came from. "We're safe for now. But they'll catch up soon. We gotta think of something, and fast."

The older l'Cie looked at her friend for a response. However, her expression was very grim. Fang exhaled from her nose softly. The events from earlier were still troubling her.

"Hey... You alright?" she inquired.

Vanille looked at her friend, and bit her lip. Finally, however, all of the guilt, frustration and anxiety came out.

" _No_! I'm _not_ _alright!_ Not after what _we_ did!"

Fang sighed. "Look, I already told you. There was nothing else we could do at that point. Right now, our first priority is to get out of here, and figure out what our Focus is-"

" _Enough with the Focus!_ " she cried, finally fed up with hearing that word over and over. "Let's forget it and _give up!_ After everything's that happened, we _don't_ need it!"

Hearing this actually managed to get a rise out of the woman. "'Don't need it?' ' _Don't need it?!_ '" she retorted. "Vanille, if we don't figure out what that Focus is, and pull it off, you're gonna _turn into a Cie'th!_ "

The younger girl crossed her arms, obviously unnerved by the volume of Fang's argument. "But... It's just- Fang, trying to find out about the Focus ended up turning that boy into a l'Cie. Making kids that young into a l'Cie; that's not _right!_ "

Fang, understanding Vanille's point of view, calmly took a deep breath before making her own point of view heard. "Yeah... You're right. It _ain't_ right. It _stinks._ It stinks as bad as Adamantoise chips. And you and I both know how bad they stink."

"Yeah..." Vanille admitted. "They do."

Fang exhaled her breath patiently. "Look, the point is that what happened was unfair. It shouldn't have happened to a kid that young. But it _did._ Nothing we can do about it now, except grin and bear it like the good l'Cie that we are. Because if we _don't,_ then the fal'Cie are gonna start making _more_ l'Cie. Like that girl from the beach the other day, remember? It doesn't matter how good or bad our Focus is. We do it. _Whether we like it or not._ "

The younger l'Cie's arms fell to the side, as her eyes looked down to her feet. "But still... It's just..."

Fang crossed her arms. "Alright, let's think about this. Say we _do_ call it quits, and abandon the Focus altogether. What do you _think'll_ happen? That the people here on Cocoon are gonna let us off the hook for attacking one of their fal'Cie? They're not gonna stop chasin' us down, until they've got us, and _lynched us in the street._ "

She shrugged, with a sad frown on her eyes. "I really hate to say it like that, Van. But it's the _truth._ Giving up now only means we're done for. But if we find out what the Focus is, we'll at least have a _chance_ of making it."

Fang had watched the girl's face throughout her explanation. Vanille felt unsure and lost, which was understandable considering the circumstances. As she went on, though, her entire expression fell downward, almost as if it died slowly and painfully. By the time she was done, the girl had no fight left in her to argue with Fang. She appeared as if she had no fight left in her altogether. And in the Pulse l'Cie's eyes, this was something that could not continue.

Fang walked up to her friend, and gently gripped her shoulders. "Listen to me carefully, Vanille. We've gotta do whatever it is that we need to do, and get off of this filthy planet as fast as we can, alright?"

Then, the woman put her right arm over Vanille's shoulders. Fang then walked over to the inside of the elevator, dragging Vanille with her, albeit she did it without protest.

However, Vanille did notice that Fang's pace was reassuringly slower than usual. "Uh, Fang?... W-what are you...?"

"Here's what's gonna happen, Van," she began, after retracting her arm away from the girl, while also placing here in the middle of the elevator. "Those men are gonna be here soon, so we're gonna split up. You go on ahead, while I stay here. I'll distract the soldiers, which'll give you enough time to get as far away from here as possible."

As soon as Fang mentioned them having to separate, Vanille's eyes widened in protest. "What?! But Fang-"

Fang smirked, as she raised her index finger, in reprimanding yet playful manner. " _Ah-ah!_ Now, you stop your worrying right there. This separation'll only be for _a little while,_ got it? So don't you worry about a thing."

She then reached for the control panel on the right side of the platform, noticeably . "No matter where you end up going, _I'll find you._ Got it, Van?" she assured.

She pressed random buttons on the panel, hoping that they would lead the elevator someplace away from the level they were in. Once that was finished, she unsheathed her Bladed Lance from her sheath, and struck the panel with the dual-tip of her spear. Sparks shot out of the broken panel, before a small jolt around them indicated that the elevator was closing.

Vanille, realizing what was happening at that moment, ran towards Fang in a last attempt to stop her. The older girl anticipated this, so she extended her hand to push Vanille back, which landed the girl on the floor sitting on her rear. Afterwards, Fang narrowly dove through the closing door as it was closed halfway. She landed back on her feet, and saw that Vanille had made it to the elevator door. Unfortunately for the girl, the hatch was to narrow for her to jump through, which meant that she was trapped in there. Fang only sent a reassuring smile at the girl, as elevator doors finally closed.

Vanille banged on the metal doors futilely, as her voice tried to reach Fang. " _Fang, wait! Fang?! Please! Don't leave me! Don't leave me alone!_ "

Fang listened to the girl's cries, leaning her forehead against the wall, with her left palm on its flat surface. It was a difficult decision, but it was the only way to ensure the girl's safety, regardless of her own.

"You're _not_ gonna turn into a Cie'th," she affirmed silently.

Footsteps heavily echoed down the corridor they had come from. This told the older l'Cie that it was time to play her part. Moving away from elevator, she spun her spear over her head, before holding it horizontally to the side. This served to be the first sign of aggression on her part in the eyes of the armed soldiers.

"You boys comin', or not?" she taunted. "Your fight's _right_ _here!_ "

She then ran off into the other corridor, hoping to lay a trap for the soldiers, and take them down. Afterwards, she planned to escape the Energy Plant, and head back to Vestige to reunite with Vanille.

* * *

**-First-Aid Room-**

Sazh stood by his son's side, even after the soldiers rolled the stretcher into the First-Aid Room, and left the boy in a makeshift bed. All around them, people were being tended to, while others were waiting for someone to come to them. They were all being treated for nausea after the earthquake, as well as for bumps and bruisers that were given to some who tried to run away from the Energy Plant when the incident occurred.

Dajh was there because he was found unconscious, but ultimately, the reason why was still a mystery. In truth, Sazh did not care, so long as his son was safe. And as far as the old man knew, he was, considering the boy was relentlessly turning to his left and right while on the cot he was on. The boy was still as a statue when he was on the stretcher, but as soon as he got off, he was as active as he was before they played hide-and-seek.

"Hey, Daddy..." Dajh whispered. "When can I get off this bed?"

Sazh tapped the boy's shoulder. "Shhh. Don't you worry about a thing, Dajh. I know it's tough, lying down in one place for a while. But you gotta stay like that until the doctor looks at you. After that, we'll head on back home."

"Okay..." Dajh pouted.

As Sazh watched his son frown, he remembered how Dajh had asked him to get the Chocobo Chick, and that the boy had yet to meet the small bird. He figured that now was the best time to introduce them.

He did not get the chance to do so, as outside the door of the room, voices were shouting loud enough to be heard. Then, the doors flew open as armored soldiers entered the room.

The soldiers had armored plating on their shoulders, forearms, knees, and shins that were brown in color. The knee and shoulder guards had bright yellow highlights emitting a glow from them, with straps on their thighs glowing with the same hue as well. On their left forearm was a circular shield. Leather straps were on tight around the shoulders and went down to the waist, where both sides had green packs that held ammunition and other tools. They also wore helmets that had the same brown color as the padding all over them, with two glowing yellow eye visors, and a large respirator where the mouth would be found.

Everyone on Cocoon knew that people wearing this type of equipment were members of the Public Security and Intelligence Command, otherwise known as PSICOM.

The soldiers moved out of the way to reveal a woman walking into the room. Judging by her appearance, as well as the strong presence that she had over the soldiers, she was the commanding officer of the group. She had long, wavy blonde hair, and wore thin rimmed glasses that hid olive green eyes. She wore a green overcoat, with a gold belt on her waist, a small orange tie over her collar bone, grayish-green outlines, and silver padding around her shoulders with two blue lines on each one. Underneath, she wore a white buttoned dress with a white business skirt that went down to the top of her knees. She wore see-through leggings, and wore a pair of black heels on her feet. Attached to her waist was a small, silver baton, though its purpose was lost on Sazh.

"Attention, everyone!" she shouted. "We are now in a state of emergency! As of this moment, the Energy Plant and all of the area surrounding Euride Gorge are under _PSICOM supervision!_ Any and all orders given by me and my fellow officers are to be followed _to the letter!_ "

She continued to speak even as she made her way to the center of the room. "Furthermore, all airship flights and landings from Euride Gorge are hereby _suspended until further notice!_ My men will be setting up a tent in the plaza by the entrance of the plant, with the purpose of being used as a waiting area. I ask that all civilians that have already been seen by the medical personnel here go there. As for those who have yet to be checked by a doctor, I ask that all of you head to the first-aid tent we have set up there as well. The same goes for all medical personnel in this room!"

She stopped when she arrived at the center of the room. "As of right _this very second,_ this place is _off-limits!_ "

At first, some of the people were lightly protesting the announcement, but ultimately they cooperated. With the help of the PSICOM Wardens, the people were organized into separate lines for each person heading to the aforementioned locations. And it went off without any problems, and almost too perfectly; one of the many traits of PSICOM's performance.

Sighing, Sazh reached down and picked his son up from the bed. "Well, Dajh, looks like we're gonna have to move."

The boy frowned. "Does that mean we gotta wait a little longer?"

"'Fraid so, kiddo," Sazh confirmed. "The sooner we get you checked, the sooner we can get back to the hotel."

However, before they made it to the line, a hand firmly grasped Sazh's right shoulder, nearly startling him.

"Excuse me. Is this the boy that was found in front of the fal'Cie?" asked a woman's voice.

Turning around, his eyes saw the face of the blonde woman in glasses who commanded the soldiers. Her eyes, however, were more focused on his son than the man himself.

"Uh... Yeah. Yes, he was," he replied.

Hearing this, the woman finally removed her hand from the pilot's shoulder, and turned her attention to him.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Lieutenant Colonel Jihl Nabaat. PSICOM Division," she greeted. "I wish to speak with you about your son. In _private._ Please, follow me this way."

Nabaat extended her arm to the direction opposite of the main entrance of the room; it was a door that only allowed authorized personnel to enter.

"Uh," he muttered, surprised by the woman's interest in her son. "Wh-what for-"

The PSICOM official put a hand to her lips, hissing a "Shhh" to the man, which stopped him in mid-sentence.

"Listen. I understand that you wish to speak about this now. However, I must ask that you follow my instructions. I promise, I will explain this matter to you in more detail. But..."

She stopped, as her eyes looked at the other people in the room.

"There are too many _open ears_ here," she whispered.

This statement only served to rouse the man's suspicions more. Just what was she talking about? What exactly happened at the plant? Why did she want to speak to him in private?

And more importantly, what was so important about his son that garnered her attention?

Ultimately, the only thing that the afro-haired pilot could do was nod with a silent "S-sure..."

* * *

**-Day 6-**

**-The Seaside City of Bodhum - Bodhum Station-**

"Ughhh... Sooo... Hungryyy..."

Nero heavily frowned, as he made his way down the path, moving along with the other citizens in it. His frown was filled with melancholy, as he rubbed his stomach with his left hand.

He had found the food court that the woman, Nora, had told him about two days prior. However, when he arrived, he had found, to his rising frustration, that the food court was surrounded by those soldiers. Every exit and every turn, there was no opening for him to grab food. And since he had already gotten himself into too much trouble by taking risks, he decided to not take the chance, and left the shopping area.

The day after, he had tried again to get food. Unfortunately, there were still officers patrolling the area. He did manage to buy himself some candy from a shop, but it was only a short amount of energy for a demon hybrid like him.

Which led to the events of today. Having been fed up with hiding from the police, and overall done with the way the city had treated him for the past few days, he finally decided to leave Bodhum. It had been a few days since he stole the arm sling and the athletic tape, so by now they should have minimized security at the station. He only needed to make sure in person.

This was why he had left the Red Queen back in the spot he had hidden it in the other day. He wanted to make sure the security was weaker than usual. If it was, then he would run back to the spot, get his sword, go back to the station, and kiss Bodhum good bye.

"Time to ditch this place... Really gonna miss all of the hiding, the creeps, and all of the persistent coppers... _NOT!_ Hehe..."

As soon as he turned the corner however, his hopes and aspirations fell for the umpteenth time in the last few days. "Oh, you've _gotta be SHITTING_ _ME!_ "

As Nero made it to the entrance of the Station, he found an enormous crowd screaming and yelling at the entrance. There, responding to them, or simply trying to quell the people, were more soldiers than there ever were previously. However, their uniforms were different; they were brown, and had yellow lighting around the shoulders, the visors, and knee pads.

The former knight stormed toward the back of the crowd, trying to hear what the people were saying, as well as figuring out what was going on. He made sure his hood was over his head, and started listening in to the raucous crowd.

"What's going on? Why can't we leave?!"

"I don't even _live_ here! You _can't_ hold us like this!"

"You're not the Guardian Corps! Where are they?!"

" _Please!_ My mother is _sick!_ I have to go back to Palumpolum to _care for her!_ "

The cries of the people only served to make Nero's head hurt. Some of the people actually had good reasons to leave the city. Why, then, would they not be allowed to leave the city?

He then tapped the shoulder of the man in front of him, and got his attention. Nero hoped that he knew the reason as to why this was happening.

"Hey. Why're they not letting people in? What the hell's going on?"

The man frowned. "Didn't you hear? There was an accident yesterday at Euride Gorge. Because of that, PSICOM's closed us off from all of Cocoon!"

" _What?!_ " Nero shrieked in disbelief, which was small compared to the rest of the crowd.

One of the solders arrived with a megaphone, and addressed the crowd. " _Attention all civilians and visitors of the City of Bodhum. The Sanctum has announced that, due to the incident at Euride yesterday, all train rides and airship flights out of and into Bodhum have been_ cancelled! _We are working hard and diligently to resolve this matter, and get you all back to your homes! Until then, however, I ask that you_ please _cooperate with us! The less resistance there is, the sooner we can solve this matter! I repeat, please follow the instructions of_ all _Sanctum officers!_ "

The soldier continued to speak to the crowd, but Nero had heard enough. He quietly walked away from the crowd before any soldiers or civilians noticed him. A scowl was etched on his face that remained even after he rounded the corner he came from.

Nero's levels of fury had gone to the limit before. But now, they were _way_ past that. Never before had the odds turned against him at every turn. The closest was during the Savior Incident, but he had managed to pull through the difficulties and succeed. Now, though, in an environment where stealth was key, he was failing miserably. After doing everything right, his chances of escape only decreased to a low that, in his opinion, was ridiculous.

Also, it only served to add to the boy's frustration at himself and his continued failures. His arrival to Bodhum began when he failed to stick with the plan Dante and the others had agreed upon, and the one _he himself_ had presented to them. After that, he failed to control his impetuous nature, and it led to him being under the Bodhum police's wanted list. Now, after failing to take the opportunity sooner, Nero's only hope of escape was now gone. And not to mention his _greatest_ failure. The one that had started him down on this road to begin with...

It was then, the devil hunter recalled, that it had been a few days seen he had last gone out. And when he had bought sweets the previous day, he had overheard a group of teens mention a beachside cafe that sold food and alcohol to customers.

"I need a drink..." Nero concluded with a frustrated sigh, no longer caring if he got caught by the police.

* * *

**-NORA House-**

" _In the last few hours, Sanctum officials have reported that there have been no casualties in Euride, reporting that civilians only received minor injuries from the eruption. However, the Sanctum has reported that investigations into the cause of the explosion are_ still _underway. In response to the investigation, the Public Security and Intelligence Command, under Sanctum orders, have closed off_ all _nearby cities in response to incident, including the Seaside City of Bodhum. This reporter asks:_ Just how long does the Sanctum intend to keep this people away from their homes? _And just_ who _or_ what _is responsible for yesterday's incident? This reporter hopes that we'll all know, soon enough. Back to you, Maks._ "

The boy watching it sighed, as the the news anchor, Maks, thanked the reporter, Aoede, for the report. He had blond hair, with blue eyes, and clear skin. He wore a headpiece that had a pair of goggles on his head, and a pair of headphones next to his ears. He wore a long sleeved jacket, that was black on the torso, and had purple sleeves. There was a red symbol on the right side of the jacket, and there was a black and yellow armband on his right sleeve. The right sleeve was also rolled up before the elbow, and a black leather glove covered his right hand. He also wore black saggy-khaki pants, that had brown leather pouches on the side. On his feet were a pair of purple, steel-toed shoes.

While watching the screen, he was tinkering with something made of junk components that he found on various outings with NORA. As Maks was about to confer with a news panel about the incident, someone slapped the back of his head.

" _OW!_ " he whined, as he looked up at Lebreau, his assaulter. "What was _that_ for, Lebreau?!"

"Get off your butt, Maqui, and start getting ready for work! With this whole blockade going on, people are gonna be comin' into this shop like flies! So we gotta be in our posts when the time comes. You can tinker with your stuff, later," she chided, as she pressed Mute on the screen.

"But..." The boy, Maqui, protested.

He looked out the door of the back room, and saw that no one was inside the cafe. "There's nobody here, yet. Plus, we gotta wait for Snow and Serah!"

"Uh, do you know how much time those two lovebirds spend together?" asked Yuj, as he walked past him while carrying a bag filled with vegetables and fruit. "Snow's the man, but if we had waited to open up the shop _until_ he showed up when we started this business, I don't think we'd still be _in business,_ right now."

"But he's our _leader!_ " he whined. "We can't start without him."

"You're right. And as our leader, Boss expects us to be able to manage the place _without him!_ So quit your whinin' and _get to it,_ Maqui!"

The boy looked at the other man who chided him. He was following Yuj, and carried two bags in each hand. The man had tan skin, and was heavily built and toned. He had brown eyes, and fiery red spiked hair. He wore a teal, sleeveless, hooded jacket, with trimmed fur on the rim of the hood. The jacket was left unzipped, and he wore no shirts underneath; this exposed his toned stomach and chest. He had a black shoulder strap on his right shoulder that was tied around his left rib. The man also wore a pair of white shorts with yellow trims, and black padding around the knees. On his feet were a pair of white shoes that were open-toed.

Sighing, Maqui relented. "Okay, Gadot. I got it."

The man, Gadot, smirked. "Aw, cheer up, man. Remember: a lot of the people coming today are visitors who can't go back home. That means it's up to NORA to at least cheer them up a bit."

"Which is why I need _you_ to hurry up, _too,_ Gadot! You're serving the people their food today, got it?" the girl interjected.

The other NORA member raised his thumb at her. "Don't worry! I'll be ready by the time our first customer drops in-"

Then, the sound of a bell interrupted Gadot before he could finish that statement.

"Hello? Anybody in here? Hello?"

"Aw _shit!_ " he hissed.

Everybody else then pointed at him, and simultaneously said "Swear Jar."

Gadot gritted his teeth. "Dang it..."

"By the way, you're already late. _Hurry up!_ " Lebreau ordered, as she walked out of the room.

Groaning, Gadot hurried after Yuj, who had already headed off into their food locker. Maqui, meanwhile, proceeded to take his project, and put it way at his desk in the corner, where he would put it back into the garage later.

As he put it away, he overheard Lebreau speaking with the customer. "Hi, welcome to the NORA House! Will you be dining alone, today?"

"Uh... Yeah, guess I am," said the customer, who Maqui discovered to be male, judging by his voice. "So, you guys sell alcohol here, right?"

"Yep, but we only serve it to adults here," Lebreau confirmed.

"Don't worry about that," the man assured.

"If you're getting a drink, would you also like to order something to go with that, so you don't drink _too_ much?"

"Heh, you know what? That'd be sweet. I haven't eaten in a while."

"Skipped breakfast today?" she laughed.

"Skipped it for the past _few_ _days,_ " he admitted.

" _Days?!_ "

"I've been busy. Had a few snacks in between, but nothing to fill me up, y'know?"

"Yeah. Hey, are you tourist?"

"Yep."

"Then that means you're stuck here in Bodhum, huh?"

"You guessed it. Just my luck."

"Ah, don't worry. Our menu'll cheer you up. Here, have a look at it."

Maqui opened a drawer to the side, and put his work in there. He could hear nothing outside, which meant that the customer was looking at it.

"Wow..." he chuckled nervously. "I don't know what to pick... Any recommendations?"

"Try the NORA Special," she advised. "Everybody that's been here _loves_ it. I think you will, too."

"...Alright, then. Give me a NORA Special. With the hardest beer, you got, if you don't mind."

"Sure. Let me see your card, first."

The boy peered out of the door, and looked at the customer giving his card to the girl. He had platinum colored hair, an arm sling, and a blue two-tailed coat. At that moment, Maqui looked at the muted screen once more and looked at the current report being shown. He then looked back at the customer, and then back at the screen. He looked at the customer once more.

His face fell within seconds, with his hands covering his mouth.

" _Holy shit!_ " he whispered.

"Swear Jar," Yuj said, which made the other boy nearly jump.

"Wh-wha...? H-how did you get behind me?"

The blue-haired boy looked to the side, and shrugged. "I walked behind you?"

Maqui shook his head, and then pressed pause on the monitor. "Dude, do you see this?!"

The other boy looked at the screen, then back at Maqui. "It's the news report. So?"

The blond-haired NORA member then pointed outside to the bar. Yuj's eyes followed where Maqui pointed, until his eyes fell on the customer. He then looked back at the screen, before looking at the customer again.

"Oh _shit,_ " he muttered.

"Swear Jar!" Gadot announced as he stepped out of the pantry. "Glad to know I ain't the _only_ one chipping in today."

Both youngsters then pointed in different directions as they spoke simultaneously; Maqui pointed outside, while Yuj pointed at the screen.

"Hey, hey! One at time! What's up with you two?" Gadot interjected.

This stopped their outbursts instantly. Afterwards, both boys looked at each other. Yuj nodded at the other boy, and let him begin.

"Okay," Maqui began. "Look at the bar. See the customer?"

Gadot nodded, as he spotted the man in the blue coat by the bar.

Yuj spoke after him. "Now look at the screen!"

The older man followed the boy's instructions. He blinked at what he saw, and looked back at the customer. It didn't take him as long as the two boys to figure out what they meant.

"Are you guys _serious?_ "

"Do we look like we're anything _but?!_ " Yuj responded.

Gadot then looked back at the customer. "Well then what're we waitin' for? Let's _get him!_ "

The bigger man stormed towards the door, but both of the boys quickly held him back. Maqui pushed against him, while Yuj pulled his left arm.

"Dude, are you _nuts?!_ _Lebreau's_ there!" Yuj protested.

"Yeah! We gotta let her know. If you just rush up to him, he's gonna _suspect_ something!" Maqui explained.

"Then what the heck are we 'sposed to do?" he asked.

The blue haired boy looked out the door again, making sure that the customer hadn't seen them. "Look, just get her attention. Tell her somethin' happened with the pantry, and for her to take a look."

Gadot blinked at the boy's statement. "But then she's gonna get mad that I _lied!_ "

"Not as mad as she's gonna be when she finds out we _served a wanted man!_ " the blonde-haired boy hissed.

"But do I _have_ to say that?"

"Say whatever you want! Just make sure you bring her here, so we could show her the report!" Yuj heatedly hissed.

The man kept his eyes trained on the bar for a moment. He gulped once, and then walked over to the counter.

**-Greeting & Dining Room-**

"Okaaay... Done!" she confirmed. "Just take a seat and your meal will be with you in a while."

"Cool," the customer shrugged. He turned around, and walked to one of the wooden tables by the balcony.

Lebreau nodded, and went to reach for a beer bottle for the customer. A tap to the shoulder stopped her, and she looked over it to see her fellow team member.

"Oh, I was just about to call you over." She then handed him the beer bottle, oblivious to his tense body language. "I need you to go take this bottle to the customer while I go make his meal."

"Yeah... About _that,_ " he began. "Look there's... Something about the pantry... Look, just come with me to the back real quick!"

Lebreau arched a defiant eyebrow while putting her hand on her hip. "Excuse you? I have to go make the customer his meal."

"This _is_ about the customer!" he hissed. "I need you to _come to the back!_ "

"What are you _talking_ about? What's with you?" she asked warily.

He let out a frustrated groan, and then tugged on her sleeve to pull her toward the door. "Just- Come _on!_ "

"Hey, what the- Where the _hell_ are you taking me?!" she demanded.

**-Back Room-**

Maqui finished rewinding the report on the screen, but frowned in embarrassment when he saw how Gadot brought their teammate in.

"Alright, look at the-"

Lebreau punched Gadot's cheek, sending him sprawling to the ground.

"Next time you _touch_ me like that, my _foot's_ gonna be what trumps you! And it won't be pretty, _either!_ "

From the floor, the man rubbed his sore cheek tenderly. "Oww..."

Yuj ignored him, and got the girl's attention. "Lebreau, you gotta see this!"

He gestured her to come near the monitor, and nodded at the other boy to play back the report. Lebreau only watched, with hands on her hips.

" _...In other news, the Guardian Corps Bodhum Security Regiment asks that all citizens be on the lookout for this individual. He was responsible for stealing several items at the Unicorn Mart in Bodhum's Shopping Mall. Officials report that he is wanted not only for theft, but for also_ attacking officers both on duty and off duty, _and for evading arrest. Reports indicate that he is_ armed,and dangerous, _so if he is spotted, we advise that you_ contact law enforcement immediately _._ "

As the report aired, the screen showed footage of their customer at the counter of the store. He was shown standing there, as the image zoomed in on his face, showing his platinum hair, and blue coat. It also showed him taking the items from their containers, and shoving them into his pocket. It also zoomed in on the sword on his back. Finally, it showed him throwing the item at the officer there, and running in the opposite direction.

Lebreau's eyes were fixated on the screen, before looking back at the customer seated at the balcony.

She then looked back at the boys. "Well you heard the report. Why haven't you called the GC?"

Gadot, still rubbing his cheek, and Yuj looked at each other, and shrugged. They then turned to Maqui, who was the first one to discover the customer's true identity.

"W-well, we wanted to let you know. That way, even if we called the Corps, you wouldn't be caught off guard." he told.

"Congrats. I got the heads up. Now _call them here!_ " she repeated.

"No, wait!" he cried, quickly covering his mouth.

The boy looked out the doorway to see what the customer was doing. He was still seated at his table. His left hand was on his chin, with his elbow on the table. He had a bored expression on his face while looking out at the beach. The boy sighed in relief, as the man had not seen him. However, the confused Lebreau was at her limit.

"Wait for what? Call them!" she hissed.

"No!" he repeated. "Listen, I have an idea!"

Lebreau reared her head back, and snapped at him. "For _what?!_ "

"Look, hear me out," he began. "Remember when we helped the GC a few days ago? How Snow met Serah's sister?"

"Yeah," Gadot nodded.

"And how she didn't want him seeing Serah anymore?"

"Yeah, even though that's _none of our business,_ " Yuj muttered.

"So I was thinking. What if _we_ captured this guy _ourselves?_ That way, when they report this to the people, they'll say _we_ helped them out. Serah's sister will _have_ to believe that he's a good person!"

The other three members of NORA remained silent, as the mechanic's words hit them. Yuj arched an eyebrow at the boy, while Gadot rubbed his chin, with a compliant gleam in his eye.

The woman, however, was the one who broke the silence. "As a founding member of NORA, I think it's adequate that I tell you that that plan... Is perhaps the _dumbest plan I've ever heard!_ "

Maqui had been slightly grinning when he saw that Gadot was about to agree with him. However, that smile fell when the woman made her opinion clear.

"B-but Lebreau..."

" _No buts!_ " she cut off, putting her right index finger in front of his face. "That plan is only going to put us and the shop at risk. If he's as armed as the report says, then we should let the _police_ handle him! The best thing we can do is _stall_ him."

"But... The army's no match for NORA..."

"This _ain't_ the army we're dealing with. It's just one guy. And unlike out there, the playing field's in _our shop,_ and I _don't_ want anyone wrecking anything in there. Once they've got him cornered, he'll give up. And they're gonna put us on the report anyway, since _we're_ the ones who're gonna be calling them."

She retracted her hand back to her side. "Now. _I'm_ gonna go prepare his NORA Special, and take my sweet time doing it." She turned to the other boy. "Yuj. You're with me."

He blinked. "Wait. I thought you said you wanted to take your time finishing the meal?"

"Yeah. But I don't want you to be there when it hits the fan," she answered.

"Hey, wait. What about me?" Gadot demanded.

" _You_ should go serve his beer. After all, he's only been waiting for a while, now!" she snapped. "Also, make sure to serve him good. We need to keep him occupied, and to do that, you got to make sure you do your job _right._ And act as if _nothing's happened!_ "

Lebreau then addressed them one last time. "As for you, Maqui, you call the GC. We do this, and this guy should be out of our hairs in no time."

With that, the woman made her way over to the kitchen. Yuj looked over to the other two boys, and saw the disappointed looks on their faces. He merely shrugged, and walked into the kitchen.

Gadot and Maqui remained silent as they stared in disbelief at the direction that the girl went to. After a moment, however, both men turned towards each other and shrugged.

"You still want to do it?" the boy asked.

The man grinned. " _Hell_ yeah! How do we capture him?"

The boy gestured for Gadot to come closer, and put his hand over his mouth to whisper at him. "Do we still have some leftover tranks?"

* * *

**-Greeting and Dining Room - A Few Minutes Later-**

"Wouldn't be surprised if they came out here and said that they're all out of food," Nero muttered. "That'd be just my luck."

The former knight had, after walking around, found the aforementioned bar he heard about. To his luck, no guards or police officers were around, which meant he could go in and grab a drink. More fortunate, however, was the fact that they sold food here. Now, after days of hiding and running, he could finally have a bite to eat. He would probably have to eat that NORA Special again after eating the first one.

Speaking of which, Nero had almost hit a snag after the girl offered him the menu. It was all in Cocoon Script, meaning that he could not read it. Thankfully, he managed to improvise long enough for her to suggest the Special. Now it was all a matter of whether or not he actually liked the dish.

Then, the door on the back, where he saw the girl and the fiery haired man walk into opened, and the latter came out with his eyes on the fugitive.

"Hey, man. Sorry for the wait. Let me get you your beer," he apologized.

"Sure. No problem," he said. "And remember: I ordered the hardest one you got."

"Comin' right up," Gadot whispered, as he knelt down to take a beer out of the small fridge. Before he stood up, however, he took out a small tranquilizer dart, and jabbed it through the aluminum bottle cap. Inside, the chemical dripped onto the beer. He then slightly shook it, so that the liquids could mix. When he felt that the deed was done, he opened the bottle, and stood up. He then walked over to Nero's table, and handed it to him.

"Here you go. Your meal's still being made, so you gotta wait a while for that. Cool?"

"Whatever. Word of advice, though: don't go too far. Might be finished with this by the time you get to the counter, and ask for another one."

Gadot chuckled. "Heheh, it's all good, man. Enjoy."

Nero watched him head towards the door, after which he finally took a chug from the beer bottle. After gulping it down, he blinked curiously, and examined the bottle.

"Huh... Tastes kinda _funky..._ " he observed. After a few seconds, he shrugged. "Guess that's what happens when you taste a beer from _another world._ "

He took another swig of the bottle.

* * *

  **-Back Room - Three Beers Later-**

Gadot and Maqui peered at the customer from the door, and watched him anxiously.

Nero looked barely conscious now. His head was drooping, and his jaw was loose and open. His eyes struggled to stay awake, as the effects of both the tranquilizing chemical and the alcohol were seeping in.

Both men were so fixated on Nero as he wobbled in his chair, that when someone tapped both of their shoulders they jumped up in fright. They both turned around to see Lebreau, with hands on her hips and a smirk on her mouth. Yuj was behind her, carrying a plate of the NORA Special.

"Wow. Who'd have thought that a simple _shoplifter_ would be enough to bring you two to your _knees,_ " she teased with a grin.

Groaning, Gadot turned to her while Maqui gently closed the door. "What do you want, 'Breau?"

"I finished the NORA Special. Had Yuj hide some ingredients to keep me from finishing sooner, too," she reported.

The man nodded. "Alright, so go give it to him."

"Took the words right outta my mouth." Lebreau then nodded at the fashion expert, and he shoved the plate to Gadot's hands.

"What the _heck?!_ "

"I already said you were serving him. So _you_ go give it to him," she responded.

"Aw, come on. Give me a _break!_ " he whined.

" _What was that?!_ " she snapped.

"Er... Nothing...?"

"Good. Now _get out there._ You're up."

Groaning, the man walked out of the room, leaving behind a satisfied Lebreau and a snickering Yuj and Maqui.

**-Greeting & Dining Room-**

He walked out into the balcony, while Nero still looked dazed.

"Here you go. Sorry for the wait, again. But it all should be worth it," he greeted, while also keeping an eye on him.

Nero blinked three times quickly, before turning to him, albeit in a dazed manner. "Wha... Oh. That... Right. Thanks... Uh... Man."

Gadot smiled. "Don't mention it." He then began to walk back to the back.

When he was inside, however, he stopped when Nero called out to him. " _Hey man!_ Hold the _fuck_ up..."

Caught off guard by the vulgar language of the customer, Gadot froze. He then turned around, and saw the other man getting up from his seat. He got up towards his left side, since he had an arm sling on his right arm. His hand was still on the chair as he approached the other man, which led to him making it fall to the side. This made him stumble slightly, as his center gravity was already off due to his drunkenness. But he managed to maintain his balance and walk over to Gadot.

" _Heeey..._ So, what's the name of this brand of beer again?... This is some _heavy_ stuff, and I'd wanna take some with me back home when I blow this boring joint..." he mumbled.

Then he started laughing loudly. "Haha-ha, hey! You know... When you say boredom 'n Bodhum next to each other... They actually sound the _same!_ And it actually describes the time I've been havin' here in this... _Thisss_ stinkin' city. Boring 'ole Bodhum."

On Gadot's side, however, he only watched the other man as he was talking to empty space on his left, and not directly looking at him when he was speaking to him.

"Uh, my man?" Gadot called. "I'm right here to _your_ _left._ You're talking to _my_ left."

Nero was smiling, but it fell when he heard the fiery-haired man speak. His head turned to his left, and blinked three times. His eyes then widened, and smiled again.

"Ohohooo _shit!_ " he grinned. "Man, this drink _is_ some heavy shit! It's got me seein' _three_ of you!"

**-Back Room-**

Lebreau, Yuj and Maqui tried their best not to laugh at Gadot and the customer's predicament.

"Ahaha! Man... That guy's so wasted! How many bottles of beer did he _drink?_ " the fashion expert asked.

Maqui covered his mouth to hide his giggles. "Guy got four beers. By the time he got to the second, he was already getting tipsy!"

Lebreau frowned slightly, as if something was off. "That's weird... You're saying this guy took them in a span of _minutes?_ " The boy nodded at her. "But that's dangerous. This guys got a _death wish,_ or something."

"As long it makes him pass out, we should be fine. He won't be a problem for us afterwards," Maqui confirmed.

The girl nodded. "Guess so. The GC's job just got _easier._ "

Maqui was nodding, but then stopped at those words. "Huh?... Oh! Right."

Yuj was still watching the scene with Gadot unfold, but the woman had caught on to the boy's faltering words. Arching an eyebrow, she slowly turned to face him again.

"You _did_ call the police, right?" she asked Maqui.

The blonde mechanic twiddled his thumbs together before answering. "Uh, yeah. _Yeah,_ I, uh... I _did!_ "

The girl wasn't convinced. She turned all of her weight to the side to fully face him. "Look me in the eyes and answer that again."

Maqui, noticing the stern tone of her voice, gulped to himself. His eyes faced the girl, arms crossed in front of her and eyes never leaving his.

"Um... I called the GC." The boy looked away multiple times.

This told Lebreau everything. "You're _lying._ What did you _do?!_ "

The boy put his hands up. "Okay, _okay!_ Me and Gadot wanted to capture him so that we could help Snow, like we _said!_ So, I had him spike his first beer with some of the trank drugs we use for our patrols. As he drank, he became more loopy!"

Lebreau eye's, as well as Yuj's, widened in shock after hearing that. A few seconds after, however, the woman's eyes narrowed in furious anger.

"You _idiot!_ Do you realize what you _almost_ did?! Not only did you say ' _F You_ ' to me by ignoring my orders, but you almost might have _killed_ the guy! And you could've made the whole problem even _worse!_ "

The girl raised her hand and slapped the back of the boy's head. The hit made him stumble against the table where the monitor was held, and caused it to fall. The boy fell on his rear, but his back pushed the doors wide open enough to grab the attention of both men outside, leaving the three other members of NORA exposed.

**-Greeting & Dining Room-**

"Huh?... What the _fuuu..._ " Nero mumbled.

"Maqui, what the hell?" Gadot exclaimed.

The boy rubbed the back of his head tenderly. But then, something hard landed on his legs. He winced in pain, but his thoughts froze when he heard the report from earlier going off. His eyes opened, and saw, to his shock, that the monitor fell on his legs, and the previous report about the blue-coated man was playing.

_"...Guardian Corps Bodhum Security Regiment asks that all citizens be on the lookout for_ this _individual. He was responsible for stealing several items at the Unicorn Mart in Bodhum's Shopping Mall. Officials report that he is wanted not only for theft, but for also_ attacking officers both on duty and off duty, _and for evading arrest..."_

Nero squinted his eyes to understand what he was seeing. The sound coming from the monitor gave him a slight headache, but it was when he saw his face, that it had his undivided attention. His blue eyes widened as the footage of the Unicorn Mart was displayed, and it zoomed in on his face. They had broadcast this across the city. He was not safe anymore.

"Oh... Oh _shit!_ " he mumbled, moving towards the doorway. "Hey, I gotta go!..."

It was then, that Gadot placed his hand in front of the drunk fugitive. "Hey, man. Where're you goin'?"

"I gotta _go,_ man!" Nero cried. "I can't stay here!"

"You can't leave. What about your food?" he reasoned.

The boy stopped and blinked. "Oh _yeeeah._ " He looked over his shoulder and shrugged. "Ah, you know what? Fuck it. I'll come back and eat it later..."

He tried to leave again, but the other man's hand was still pushing against him. "Dude, we can't let you go like this, man. You're _drunk!_ "

Nero waved his hand in disagreement. "Nah, no. I'm fine. I just... Gotta get outta..."

Then, Gadot rushed to the entrance, making the boy stumble forward, as he had out a lot of his weight against the hand. The bigger man stood in the middle of the doorway, right in front of the former knight.

"'Ey, man. What the _fuck?_ " Nero questioned.

Gadot crossed his arms defiantly. "I'm sorry, bro... But I _can't_ let you leave."

Nero glanced at him with squinted eyes. He seemed to be staring deeply into the man's soul.

Finally, he spoke. "Oh... So _that's_ how it is... _That's_ how's gonna be, huh?"

Gadot frowned. "What're you talkin' about?"

The boy only chuckled to himself. "I done figured your ass out... You guys are trying to keep me here, so that the cops can come all the way here, and catch me... You're probably doin' it for some reward, er somethin'..."

He grinned widely. "But guess what, firehead? I caught on to your little scheme. So your plan _failed!_ "

Lebreau scowled, as she looked at Maqui. "If only he knew that _they weren't coming!_ "

Maqui squirmed under her gaze, but he kept his eyes trained on the customer. "I don't get it. The sedative should've worked by now."

At that, Nero turned towards the other three members, which caused all three of them to recoil in surprise. Nero squinted at them, and blinked.

"Sedative?... What sedative-"

It was then, that his stomach began to grumble. He placed his left hand over it in curiosity. His smile then returned.

"Oooh. You guys _spiked_ my damn drink!... _Maaan,_ you guys are a buncha _assholes..._ "

He then looked at Gadot again, and waved his index finger condescendingly at him. "But you guys forget about one important thing..."

He then pointed to his left. " _YOU FORGOT ABOUT THAT EXIT!_ "

True to his words, the opening to the small balcony with the tables was still open.

Nero chuckled. "So instead of goin' through _this_ way... I'm goin' _that_ way, and ditchin' _your_ traitorous asses _here._ " He then began walking over to the door. " _Hasta la bye-bye!_ "

The tanned man's eyes went wide when he realized that he had forgotten the balcony. They went even wider when he saw Nero moving over to them intending to leave. At that, Gadot rushed after him.

"Hey! I said you ain't goin' _anywhere!_ " he repeated, reaching out with his right hand to grab his shoulder.

When he did however, Nero, in a speed deemed impossible for one as intoxicated as he was, quickly snapped around to his right and grabbed the man's wrist. Then, he pulled back, and spun once to throw Gadot back where he came from. The man fell on the floor, and rolled onto his back. He then looked back at the fugitive in disbelief. Nero still wobbled, slightly disoriented from his action. When he regained it, his eyes glared at Gadot.

"So, you wanna _rock!_ jackass?" he asked.

Nero then rubbed his forehead, while spreading his legs to a fighting stance. He then extended his left arm. His whole body was still swerving side to side, but he was ready nonetheless.

"Then let's _roll!_ "

* * *

**-Beach-**

"How's that scar holdin' up?"

Serah tensed slightly, before looking back at Snow. "W-what?"

He shrugged. "The scar? The one under the bandage?"

Understanding what he meant, she sighed in both relief and guilt. "Oh. It's fine. Getting better by the day."

Snow grinned. "Good to know."

The couple was walking down the beach, after leaving their usual spot a few minutes prior. They were making their way back to the cafe so that they could help the others get ready for whatever number of customers visited them that day. Ever since the Sanctum cut off Bodhum from the rest of Cocoon, the NORA leader had predicted that more people would come to the bar that day to ease their troubles from the misfortune. With that in mind, he urged the other members to be prepared and ready that day, so that they could give customers a better day. It was the right thing to do, in Snow's opinion, seeing as how they were being kept here against their will.

"By the way," he inquired, "Has your Sis even _mentioned_ me since the last time we met?"

The rose-haired girl shook her head. "Nope. Like I said, she came back that day _very_ annoyed, and shut herself in her room after dinner. She usually doesn't like to talk about things that bother her. I think she's just trying to forget you even _exist._ "

He chuckled. "Should I be worried?"

She smiled. "No. Unless of course you run into her again, _then_ she's probably gonna make sure you actually don't exist."

This joke made both of them laugh. "Haha, yeah she probably would. Hey. We still going gift shopping before her birthday?"

Serah, didn't answer that question immediately. Truthfully, she had forgotten all about that. After being cursed, and almost being assaulted by those men, shopping for Lightning's birthday present was something she almost forgot. Thanks to Snow's comment, she was able to remember.

But then, there was also the question of whether or not she would be able to live that long.

She answered when she saw her boyfriend's confused face, and in part to dissuade her own fears about the future. "Yeah! _Definitely._ We just gotta decide which day."

Hearing this, the man grinned. "Alright! Obviously, it can't be _today._ Man, I tell ya, babe. We're gonna be _packed,_ all day-"

They were right by the foot of the stairs of the cafe, when they heard a crashing sound. Their proximity allowed them to hear noises coming from inside the cafe. At first they were curious, but then they became startled when they heard voices.

" _HOLD STILL, DAMMIT!_ "

"Y _OU CALL THAT PUNCHING, FIREHEAD?_ _MAAAN..._ _YOU'RE SUCH AN AMATEUR!_ "

Another crashing noise was heard.

"W-was that Gadot?" Serah questioned.

"Yeah..." Snow answered. "Wait, hold up!"

The larger man then sprinted up the short stairway, with the girl following after him. When they reached the top, they were met with an incredible sight.

**-NORA House - Greeting & Dining Room-**

Gadot was lunging for a platinum-haired, blue coated man with an arm sling, who seemed to be drunk. Gadot then swung at the man, and to Snow and Serah's surprise, the man had side stepped the hit, although he had to regain his balance afterwards. He continued to swing at him, and the man continued to rear his head back, or simply step to the side. Each time, the man had just enough time to reposition himself to dodge the next blow.

Lebreau, Yuj, and Maqui were watching from the backdoor, stupefied at how the man had the upper hand on Gadot despite being intoxicated.

Gadot, getting more angrier as he missed, dashed forward to tackle him. Nero, however, waited until the last second to make a move. As he got close, the boy did a front-flip into the air, soaring over the fiery-haired man. Then, he kicked off of the man's back with both feet, which sent him falling face first in front of Snow's boots. Nero landed on his feet, but then rubbed his forehead as he was getting a headache.

By then, the man's vision was blood red, only looking back at the drunk fugitive responsible for his humiliation. So blinded by rage was he, that he did not hear Snow calling out to him, and asking about what was happening.

Nero, clenching his stomach, flashed him a mocking grin. "I take it back... You're no _firehead..._ You're a _meathead!_ _Ahaha-haaa!_ "

Gadot had had enough. Screeching out a battle cry, the man pounced from the floor and ran with all of his might towards Nero. At this point, Gadot was blind to all of his surroundings. The boy, on the other hand, scratched his stomach. At that moment, an uneasy feeling overcame it.

When Gadot was three feet away from ramming him over, the boy then projectile vomited at Gadot. The barf was clear and colored yellow, as it was the color of the beer he had drunk. It hit Gadot right in the chest, which stopped his run right then and there. The flame-haired man looked down at his exposed chest, that was now covered in beer barf, with a heavy grimace. Lebreau, Yuj, and Maqui had grimaces on their faces, while Snow had his hands on his head. Serah had her hands on her mouth.

Nero merely wiped some of the barf on the corners of his mouth with his left forehand. He blinked twice before noticing where the throw-up fell. When he did, he instantly went into laughter.

" _HAHAHAHAHA!_ Holy _shit,_ dude! My bad!" he apologized. "Here... Lemme clean that up for ya."

He then reared his left arm back, and punched Gadot right in the face. The force of the hit was strong enough to knock him out, and the man fell flat on his back.

Nero, in response, spat to his side. "What a dumbass..."

There were a few seconds of silence, as the three NORA members had their jaws opened in awe. Snow still had his hands on his head, processing what he had just seen. Nero still kept his eyes on Gadot, body still tilting left and right due to intoxication.

Serah, however, was the one most surprised of them all. After her recent attack, Serah had been somewhat keeping an eye out for her savior. The girl had not forgotten about what she had seen from the man's hand, which gave her suspicions about it; they gave her both fear and a small glimmer of hope. And after days of wondering, she was now face to face with her savior again.

Her thoughts were then disrupted however, when her boyfriend cried out in anger. " _WHAT THE HELL'S GOIN' ON HERE?!_ "

The blue-coated man looked up at Snow, and frowned heavily. "Wha? You wan' summa this too, _asshole?_ Well, step right..."

He stopped when his eye met Serah's. The girl gasped to herself, as he squinted towards her direction. He blinked three times slowly, before pointing his left index finger at her.

" _You..._ " he muttered. He then began walking towards her to get a closer look. "Don't I _know_ you from somewher-"

" _STAY AWAY FROM SERAH!_ " Snow shouted, as he lunged forward and connected a punch to the boy's nose.

The force of the hit made him stumble backwards, but it was not enough to make him fall to his rear. He reached for his nose and rubbed it. Groaning, Nero roughly dropped his arm to the side to glare at Snow.

"Duuude... What the _fuck?!_ "

While Serah was about to reach out for Snow, hoping to stop this from escalating further, the NORA Boss saw Nero's coat flap to the side when his arm fell to the side. It produced a gust strong enough to make the side of his coat flap moment. That was when Snow spotted the Blue Rose holstered on the man's side.

Urgently, Snow pushed Serah back with his right arm, and stepped back. " _GUYS, HE'S GOT A_ GUN!"

Nero blinked at this, and looked to the sides. "Gun? Who-"

Then, a something hard broke against the back of his head. The force of the hit made him fall to his knees, but he still managed to barely remain conscious. He slowly looked over his shoulder to see that the girl who took his order had broken a beer bottle over his head. She had clearly expected that to knock him out, since she was now looking back at him in terror.

The former knight pointed his shaking index finger towards her. "That... Hurt?..."

His vision was slowly beginning to blur. He could feel his body heavily tilting left and right like never before. His eyes then looked upwards, until the only thing one could see were the whites of his eyes.

"I feel... _Sleepyyy..._ "

Nero then passed out, and the rest of his body fell flat to the floor. He was a few feet away from Gadot.

Nobody in the room moved for a good few seconds. The only sounds heard were the waves outside, and seagulls in the distance. Carefully, Lebreau knelt down next to Nero, and put her hand on the side of his neck. After two seconds, she sighed in relief.

"He's still alive," she confirmed. " _Unconscious._ But _alive._ "

Everyone in the room, save for the two unconscious men, sighed in relief. The members were relieved because now there would be no more disruptions from the man. Serah was also relieved that he was alive, but for more personal reasons.

The woman secured Nero's double-barrel revolver from its holster, and called out to the blue-haired boy. "Yuj. See if you can wake the big guy up." He nodded and walked over to Gadot's unconscious form.

Maqui walked over to Nero, and stood next to the girl. "Wow. Not even a bottle to the head knocked him out completely. I guess the sedative worked in the end."

At this Lebreau snapped up to her feet. "You know what else would have worked? _CALLING THE GC!_ " she chided, making the boy reel back. "If you'd done that from the beginning, like I _told_ you to, _none of this would've happened!_ "

Snow, having only heard of this just now, walked forward. "Wait, hold on. _Sedatives?_ _GC?!_ Just what the _hell_ happened here?!"

The woman pushed the boy towards him, fed up with dealing with him. "You tell him."

Maqui looked back at her, and then to Snow. He didn't look at Snow, and only rubbed the back of his head.

"C'mon, Maq," he insisted. "You can tell me."

Groaning, Maqui looked down at his feet. After a moment, he took a deep breath, and finally looked at the Boss in the eyes.

"Okay... I found out this guy was the same guy who stole from the Unicorn Mart a few days ago, when I saw his face on the news report. I told everyone else about it, and I told them I wanted to capture him. Lebreau... She told us to call the police, but me and Gadot tried to nab him, _anyway._ We laced his first drink with some sedative from the tranks we use sometimes, but we only used it _once!_ Then Lebreau found out, and she hit me, which led to me falling on my butt, and accidentally playing the report while the door was open... That's when all hell broke loose."

Snow listened carefully to the boy's explanation. When he finished, he asked the next most important question. "Why didn't you call the GC when Lebreau told you to?"

The blonde mechanic took another deep breath, and spoke. "It-it's because me and Gadot wanted to help you out, man. You and Serah."

"What?"

"I just wanted to help you guys out with that thing you had trouble with. You know? About how Serah's sister doesn't like you and stuff. I thought, maybe if you we were credited with catching the guy, she'd think you were _good_ for Serah.""

Hearing this, Serah sent a small betrayed glare to Snow. "You told them about that?"

"I told them that your sister threatened to _punch_ me!" he confessed. "That can only be interpreted _one_ way."

"Understatement of the century," Yuj remarked, as he tried shaking Gadot awake.

The NORA leader waved him off. "Look, bottom line is this: I appreciate the concern, Maqui. But that's a _personal_ matter that both me _and_ Serah are gonna resolve. You can't go doin' stuff like this. It's only puttin' other people in danger. And heroes _never_ put other people in danger. Got it?"

Maqui frowned in shame, but since Snow had not heavily reprimanded him, he was not overly crushed. Looking back at the bigger man, he nodded in compliance. Snow smiled back at him in return.

"Alright then. Now the next order of business. We got a _wanted_ _man_ knocked unconscious on the floor. What do we do with him?" Snow wondered.

Lebreau, who had gone to the back to put the Blue Rose away, answered as she walked back into the room. "We should do what we should have done from the beginning: call the GC."

The Hero nodded. "Alright then. Call the GC, it is-"

"No, wait!" Serah interjected unexpectedly. "We can't do that."

Her boyfriend, caught off guard by her reaction, looked at her incredulously. "Uh, Serah. We _kinda_ do. He did just _knock out_ one of our friends. Not to mention that he's _wanted_ for _theft,_ remember?"

"Yes..." Serah conceded. "But, he was _drunk_ remember? Maybe he's not so bad when he's _sober_!"

Lebreau put her hands on her hips. "Sober or not, he stole from the Unicorn Mart. AND, he evaded arrest by putting his hands on an off duty cop. Yeah. _That_ was on the report, too."

Snow nodded at the woman, and then turned back to his girlfriend. He merely shrugged at her. "You heard her."

"But still!" she tried. "We can't just-"

"Serah, why are you trying to _defend_ this guy?" Snow interjected, arching a curious eyebrow at her behavior. "Do you know him, or something?"

Serah opened her mouth to respond, but she forced nothing out. To speak would mean that she would have to tell him everything about the second worst part of that day. But if she didn't the man before her would be taken into custody.

And with it, her only hope of saving herself.

"Uh, Snow?" Yuj called from his crouched position. "You might wanna finish this discussion quick. We've got company headed our way."

Hearing this, Snow briefly glanced at Serah, before walking over to the balcony. From there, he could see people heading towards their shack; they were potential customers.

"Damn," he whispered. He then walked back inside and addressed everyone else. "Okay, listen up! People are about to come in, so get to your stations!"

Snow then looked at Maqui. "Maq. Get the phone ready. I'm gonna contact the GC. Tell 'em we found their guy."

The rose-haired girl's eyes went wide. "Snow, _don't!_ " she pleaded.

The man had an apologetic look on his face. "Look, Serah, I'm sorry. But we _can't_ let this guy go, _especially_ if he goes to places armed, _and_ if that's how he fights. I dunno if you know him or not. But he's _dangerous._ "

The man turned to go to the back. "Like I said, I'm so-"

" _HE SAVED MY LIFE!_ " she blurted out, cutting him off, and also grabbing the attention of everyone in the room.

Snow was in mid step when the girl's cry reached his ears. His foot had stopped in mid-air. His eyes went wide at hearing the statement. After planting his foot on the ground, he looked back at his girlfriend incredulously.

"What did you say?" he asked with a confused expression on his features.

The girl nervously swallowed the saliva in her throat, before answering. "This boy... He saved my life... It happened three days ago."

"Three days ago?" he repeated. "You mean when you had to skip out of meeting with me later, right?"

She nodded, albeit uneasily. "Yeah... I didn't go because of what happened earlier to me that day. If he hadn't been there I..."

She stopped when he Snow's hands reassuringly pressing her shoulders.

"Hey... It's alright," he assured.

Hearing his voice, and how safe she felt under it, the girl couldn't help but smile. However, it fell into a serious thin line, as she remembered what she was trying to do.

"Snow, you _can't_ turn him in," she pleaded.

The man sighed, somewhat torn now after hearing this development. "Serah..."

" _I know!_ I _know_ he's _wanted!_ " she told him. "But I also _know_ he's a good person. He wouldn't have saved my life if he wasn't!"

"Serah... Say we _don't_ turn him into the police. What do you expect us to do? _Hide him?_ " he questioned.

Serah's response was her biting her bottom lip.

Snow's head reared back in disbelief. "Are you _serious?!_ "

"I know! And I'm _sorry!_ But I need to ask him a few things. And I never got the chance to tell him thank you for saving me!" she explained.

"How did he-?" The man stopped himself, audible groaning with how absurd the situation was getting. "Serah, listen. You're asking me and the team to harbor a fugitive! That's _against_ the law!"

"But so is going out and helping them _hunt monsters!_ " she argued.

Snow lifted his finger. "Don't give me that! There, the Corps is actually _okay_ with us helping them out. And that's what we do: _help them out._ But this? This is the _opposite_ of helping them out!"

"Hindering," Yuj provided.

"Yeah, thank you! _Hindering,_ it's called," Snow countered. "We'd only be stopping them from doin' their job."

"Snow I get it. This is isn't what you usually do. But I really, _really_ need to speak with him! Please... _Please_ trust me on this..."

The NORA leader looked directly into the eyes of his girlfriend. Her eyes dipped pleadingly, asking him to trust her. A good part of his mind told him not to, since this man was already at large. The police were looking for him, and since they closed the city off, it would only be a matter of time before they found him. If they found him here, it would destroy any trust the GC had with them.

But, in his heart, he wanted to help this man after hearing that he had saved Serah's life. Snow had not been there, and if he had, Serah may not have been in danger of whatever it had been that came her way. If she was telling the truth, however, then this man was responsible for making sure she got away in one piece. For all he knew, Serah may not have come back to him that day, had this boy not been there when he had.

And saving Serah, in his heart, was more than enough to give him a chance.

"Lebreau, Yuj, Maqui?"

The three other members of NORA looked at their leader, wondering what his next command would be.

"Maq, I need you to take Gadot to the back, and wake him up. 'Breau, I want you to start taking orders from the people that come in here. Yuj. I want you to get this guy into the back, and tie him to a chair... We're gonna interrogate him once Gadot wakes up."

The declaration brought a wide smile to Serah's face. The other members of NORA, however, had shock, surprise, and horror written on their faces.

"Snow, are you _serious?!_ " Lebreau protested. "This guy almost _trashed_ our _entire_ cafe! You can't let him-"

"Lebreau!" he cut off, holding a hand up to the air. "Just do it. _Please?_ We'll talk about this after I talk with Serah. Now go wake up Gadot... _Please?_ "

The girl still looked at him incredulously for a brief moment, before throwing her arms up in the air with exasperation. "Fine, whatever. _Your_ call. _Your_ fault."

Maqui then walked over to Gadot's unconscious form, and put his arms underneath his shoulders. He lifted him up, and then dragged him slowly over to the back door. Yuj didn't even bother to lift Nero up by the shoulders, due to his arm sling. Instead, he picked up his legs, and dragged him while the rest of his body was on the floor. Nero's limp arm went past his head as he was dragged through the floor. It took the boy some effort, but he eventually got Nero into the other room. Lebreau, on her part, noticed that the customers were near, so she ran to the back of the bar to get ready to take orders when they arrived.

Serah, after they all left, ran up to her boyfriend, and wrapped her arms around him tightly. "Thank you..."

Grinning, Snow returned the hug with equal force. "Hey. It's alright. I already told you many times. _I trust you._ "

He gently let go of her, and she did the same. The man then gently reached for her hand, and held it tightly. With her hand in his, he led her to the couch that was placed in the back of the room. They both sat down on it, and he then reached for her other hand, and held it as well.

"But right now, I'm gonna need you to tell me what happened that day," he pleaded. "It's fine. You can _trust_ _me._ "

The younger Farron couldn't help but be nervous. Although she was aware of having to do this after telling them that she knew the boy, doing so meant reliving that moment when those three men assaulted her. It was something she was not looking forward to in the slightest.

But looking into the eyes of her boyfriend, she knew that reliving it would not be so difficult knowing that he was there. Also, the men were not there to harm her, and if they were, she knew Snow would protect her from them.

When she was with him, she always felt safe.

"Okay..." she relented. "This is how it happened..."

* * *

**-to be continued in the next mission-**

* * *

Mission 6: The Hunt Begins 

As Nero is interrogated by the members of Team NORA, a special forces group arrives in Bodhum with orders to investigate the incident. Meanwhile, other parties begin to make their moves, as the secret of Euride Gorge threatens to change the landscape of Cocoon forever. Factions are revealed, the players arrive, and the hunt for those with special abilities begins. Will Nero be the first to be caught in this changing game? 

* * *

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to comment, subscribe, or leave a kudos!


	7. Mission 6: The Hunt Begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Revised on FF,Net: 2-7-16

 

* * *

**Mission 6: The Hunt Begins - The Castle Town of Fortuna**

* * *

**-Day 2-**

**-Earth-**

**-The Castle Town of Fortuna - Opera House - Hell Gate Seal-**

"Well, _this_ was a dead end."

Dante, arms crossed over his chest, frowned, as he and Lady stood on the platform that was the Hell Gate Seal. He had jumped into the circular shaft in the room that led to the secret chamber, and raised the elevator for his fellow hunters. Trish had opted to search around the Opera House once more to see if they had just missed Nero when they arrived. This left him and Lady the responsibility of searching for him down in the Hell Gate Seal.

Lady, shades on top of her head and hands on her hips, had a frown that was just as heavy as the red-clad hunter's. "I guess that kid _does_ have death wish..."

"Still," he mused. "The kid was doin' his job when he was back at that place he was looking at. When he got here and caught his scent, he started going rogue. That could only mean he was chasing after _something_ when he last spoke to us."

"The elevator only proves that. But then again, it could already have been like that before we showed up," she grimly added.

He shrugged. "Guess we have to wait until Trish gets back. Maybe she found something we missed."

The devil huntress only frowned, seeing as she could not disagree with the man. They could not go further until they figured out what had happened to their partner. To her hidden frustration, this delay was a major setback for them in terms of completing their job. In truth, though, she and the others should have expected this from the boy, considering his personal motivation for taking the mission.

"At this rate, he's gonna learn the hard way."

Lady's eyes narrowed at Dante, a curious glint in them. "Care to elaborate?"

His lips pursed. "The hard way... He's gonna learn the consequences of _revenge_ the hard way."

The woman's expression softened as she turned away. The consequences of revenge. That was something both of them were quite familiar with. After all, their current lifestyle as demon hunters were triggered by tragedies that urged them to seek those responsible for them, and personally dispense justice. It was easier for Lady, though, due to the fact that she knew who was responsible for her tragedy: the death of her mother, who she named her bazooka after. All those years ago she killed the man responsible, her own father, at the top of the demonic tower, Temen-ni-gru, thereby stopping him from ever reaching his goal of becoming all-powerful, as well as hurting anyone else to further his ambitions.

She had cried moments after emptying her clip, collapsing to her knees shortly after that. She did not have any one reason for it; whether it was because blood was thicker than water, or because it was the first, and only, time she had killed another human. She had cried nonetheless, and the moment the had tears stopped falling, was the moment Mary Arkham had died and was reborn as "Lady."

And yet, not once in the years that followed had she regretted what she had done. The only explanation she had for it was that exacting her vengeance coincided with doing the right thing. The woman could only assume that it was the same thing for Dante.

Still, she could not deny that Dante vengeance was that of a different, and somewhat twisted scale.

From what she knew, after working with Dante in the past, he sought vengeance against the demons who had murdered his mother, and tore apart his family. The problem was that he did not know the names of the demons involved, which made his search for vengeance all the more difficult. Instead of searching for them, he opted for a more simpler, yet also complex route: kill any and all malevolent demons that both stood in his way and threatened humanity. This led to him starting his own devil hunting business.

Dante was not the conventional image of a knight fighting for humanity; he would be the first to admit that he was anything but a knight, saying something upon the lines of _"I'm just a guy doin' a job someone paid me to do."_ But no one could deny all of the good he has done for others, and often for no reward, despite there being a reward spoken of beforehand. It almost made Lady feel bad for all of the times she left him with little pay from the jobs she always had for him.

_'Almost,'_ she thought. _'I need the money to pay for my own guns and weapons. And it's his fault. He shouldn't be asking to borrow money from me all the time, let alone leave a bullet-holed mess everywhere goes.'_

Least appealing aspects of his character aside, Dante was the best of them. But he too was victim of tragedy; he had suffered the most of them, in a way. Like her, he had lost his family at a young age. The difference between her and him being that, more than once, his family was _literally_ used against him. He had encountered his brother, whom he had believed dead, and learned that they were on opposites sides, often at odds with the other's goal. When had Dante last faced him in their first conflict, his brother had fallen to the Demon World out of his own free will. This particular case was the one where she first met him, and they became partners afterwards.

Years later, Trish had, literally, crashed through the doors of his shop; it was from Trish herself that Lady learned this from, and Dante confirmed it afterwards. Trish was also the one who revealed the twisted truth of their first encounter: she was a demonic doppelganger of Dante's deceased mother, created by the Demon King Mundus for the sole purpose of leading Dante to his doom, so as to ensure that the man could not interfere with Mundus' plan to conquer the Human World. She had also revealed that Mundus had taken control of Dante's brother, who the Demon King had somehow found and possessed. Mundus used Dante's own kin against him: both his mother and brother. Dante had been forced to kill him once and for all...

Trish had betrayed him, but Dante had ended up saving her anyway. Touched by his noble gesture, Trish had taken a mortal blow for Dante when he first faced the Demon King, and nearly died. However, she managed to pull through, and helped him again in his final battle with Mundus. Feeling guilty for betraying him, she plead for his forgiveness in tears. This was more than enough for him to forgive her, since "devils never cry."

All of them, Lady realized, were products of vengeance. She was a product of her own vengeance against her mad father, and through that, began her crusade against all evil demons. Dante was the same, despite his demonic heritage. His ultimate goal was to kill as many evil demons that stood in his path, hoping that one of them would eventually be one of the other demons, other than Mundus, responsible for the act of murdering his mother. He also wished to protect humanity, but again, he wasn't so bold as to shout it out to his foes and friends alike. Trish herself was born out vengeance, albeit from the Demon King's desire to get back at Sparda for betraying him all of those centuries ago. All of them were shaped by the notion of revenge, whether it be their own, or someone else's.

Nero, however, was different. At least he was in the beginning.

Nero fought demons not out of revenge, but out of the wish to protect the city his loved ones cherished. When he first became a Holy Knight of the Order of the Sword, after the death of his lover's parents, he did so for both the aforementioned reason, and out of admiration for his foster brother. And despite all of his efforts, he had failed. Even then, he tried to make the most of it with her at his side, by rebuilding their town elsewhere with the survivors of the Savior Incident. There was still hope for Nero in preserving what little he had. When the tragedy struck, however, that was all taken from him. And now, one year later, he was driven by revenge to see this job through.

Regardless of the outcome of the job, Nero had become a product of revenge.

"Could we have stopped this from happening?"

Dante grunted. "What do you think? If we'd kept a closer eye on the damn kid, we wouldn't be lookin' for his ass, now _would_ we?"

The demon huntress shook her head. "Although your point is right on the money, that's not what I meant."

The platinum-haired man's eyebrows furrowed, gesturing her to continue.

"I mean, could we've acted _earlier?_ As in _'months ago'_ earlier? " she wondered. "If we'd acted _sooner_ , would we even _be here_ right now?... Would Nero not have _lost so much?_ "

Frowning heavily, Dante's arm fell to the sides. "Hard to say. The bottom line is that whenever someone's anywhere near Demonville, _tragedy's_ not too far behind."

Lady's hetero-chromatic eyes scrutinized her fellow hunter. "Wait... You mean to say that you _knew_ something like this was gonna happen to him?!"

"Would you blame me if I _did?_ " he responded. "Think about out it, Lady. When you hear about somebody in our line of work, they've usually lost something along the way. Is it _really_ hard to believe that Nero was gonna get there, _eventually?_ "

"But still..." she tried to dispute. However, she could not find the words, considering his were true.

"To answer your question, I'm not entirely sure," he continued. "After all, we're dealing with something on a scale we've _never_ seen before. _No one_ could have ever predicted this, since we don't have a concrete way to deal with something like this."

"But in the case of the kid?... Yeah. That could've been prevented... _I_ could've prevented it."

The woman, after a short moment of pondering to herself, shook her head. "No... You're right. There's nothing that could've been done. No one could've expected this to ever happen. Not even _you_ , Dante."

Dante did not say anything. His eyes only stared at the dark passage beyond the Seal.

There was another question she wanted to ask, but was afraid to say it. Finally, she let the words slip through her mouth.

"Did you really believe... That the demons really wouldn't have let them last that long?"

The half-demon took a deep breath through his nostrils, before answering. "According to my experience? No... But I'd _hoped_ they'd be the exception."

Nothing was then said afterwards. Both demon hunters remained silent, as Dante kept his eyes forward. Lady's eyes averted Dante on purpose, if only to allow herself to hear her own thoughts. His statement did startle her, if slightly. However, she could not blame him for that, considering what she knew of what he had been through. And he _had_ hoped he would be wrong. That counted for something. At least in her view.

A familiar voice cut through the silence. "Why didn't you guys answer?"

Both Lady and Dante looked behind them to see their fellow hunter walking towards them.

"What're you talking about?" said the human devil hunter.

"I tried hitting you guys up with the communicator you gave us. All I got from you guys was nothing," Trish explained.

"But we didn't get your message. Our walkie-talkies didn't even go off!" Lady responded.

This new development made the red-clad devil hunter rub his chin-beard. "Hmmm... So the walkie-talkies _can't_ reach down here..."

Hearing this, Lady glanced at Dante curiously. The expression went away, however, as she caught on to what he was thinking.

"You're saying Nero tried to contact us?"

"No. But I'm thinking that if he _did_ , we wouldn't have known it _if_ he'd been down here. That'd explain why we didn't hear from him on the way over here."

"Then again, that's only _if_ he actually came down here," Lady disputed.

"That's most likely what happened," Trish interjected. "I did a roundabout, and I found nothing. No clues as to where he went, other than the ones that lead to here."

Dante crossed his arms again. "Then that takes us back to the obvious conclusion: the kid _was_ here. The only thing left to find out is _where_ the hell he ended up."

Trish put her hands on her hips, and sauntered to Lady's left. Looking around the room, her eyes went from the endless corridors, to the walls, and finally the water below. Her gaze remained there, as a theory came to her.

"So we're going on the hunch that Nero was here, right?"

"Pretty much," Dante responded, his attention towards the lightning demoness.

"So, let's say he found the target, or something. Whatever. What if that lead him to falling down into the water down here?" she postulated.

The other two hunters looked down at where she indicated, seeing a perfect reflection of themselves in the water.

"Then I'd say the kid was too careless," Dante expressed.

"Still... It wouldn't be too far-fetched considering... You know. The _last time_ he ran into the target," Lady admitted.

"Then, if you agree with my theory, Nero is probably down one of these tunnels, hanging on to the side for dear life," she reasoned.

The red-clad hunter frowned. "Or he's sleepin' with the fishes."

The three hunters thought to themselves as they stood there. The she-demon's theory was both plausible and incredulous. Nero would be reckless to the point of disregarding his own safety. And although he had claimed that he had been preparing for whenever this mission came their way, his actual effectiveness against their target was still a debatable topic. His failure was a possible outcome, one that they were uncertain as to whether it could have been avoided. However, they had no other options, other than to leave the boy behind. No one would admit it out loud, but they did not have the heart to do that.

Ultimately, Dante was the one who spoke. "Welp... Guess we'd better check if that brat's here. Unfortunately, there's no catwalks for us to walk on. Guess your turn's up, Lady."

Said woman quickly snapped towards him. " _E-excuse me?!_ _Hell no!_ I'm _not_ swimming in that _sewer water!_ "

"Well, we gotta make sure that we find the kid alive... And if not, we owe it to him to send him off properly," he grimly.

"I thought you _weren't_ religious?"

"This ain't about _religion_ ; it's about _dignity_. The kid deserves better than to slowly rot in a sewer."

The statement managed to soften the girl's expression, but she still had an annoyed pout as she thought it over.

"...But why do _I_ have to do it?" she whined.

He put his hands on his hips. "Well, considering _I_ had to drop down _hundreds_ of feet earlier to get an elevator that _you_ guys _needed_ to get down here, _and_ the fact that Trish had to go _retrace_ our steps _after_ we tried to retrace the kid's steps the first time, _you're_ the one who has yet to pull her weight among the group."

"And you haven't considered the fact that _I_ brought us here with _my_ boat?" she countered.

"Under the threat of Morrison coming to collect on your debt to him," he refuted. "Plus, out of the three of us, you're the only one who's scuba-certified; and there _is_ scuba gear on your boat. Trish, if you recall, is also a _lightning-demoness..._ You know what happens when electricity and water mix, _right?_ "

Lady frowned further, refusing to yield to the other two. After a whole minute of thinking to herself, as well as trying to ignore her feelings of guilt toward actually thinking about leaving the boy, or his possible remains, here in the sewer.

Finally, the Lady gave up. "Assholes... Here, help me get my gear from the ship..."

She forcefully shoved Dante out of her way, before striding towards the corridor's entrance. Trish and Dante followed after her, but made sure to stay a good distance behind her.

Quietly, the she-devil leaned towards the man to whisper to him. "You know what you told her isn't true, right? I can _perfectly_ interact with water. I've even asked to borrow _your_ shower from time to time."

"True," he admitted. "But you remember what I've always said about job payments, right?"

"'We take what we can get.' I remember."

"We do take what we can get... And _that_ includes opportunities to pull a small prank on Lady, for mooching money off of us the last time we had a job here," he explained, a sly smile etching his features.

Trish arched an eyebrow. "You _do_ know she mostly uses that to pay for her _ammo_ and _firearms_ , right?"

"And the rest is used on clothes and other stuff. So... You _in_ or _out_?"

Trish said nothing for a minute. Right before walking to the elevator room however, she had a similar sly smile on her face.

"Alright," she agreed. "For today only, water and Trish don't mix."

He smirked. "Glad to hear it. Let's laugh it up while we can. Depending on what we find, this mission might officially _be no laughing matter._ "

* * *

**-Day 6-**

**-Cocoon-**

**-The Seaside City of Bodhum - NORA House - Back Room-**

Snow slowly closed the door behind him, losing the easy-going facade he had displayed in front of the customers. He ran his right hand down his face, still registering the story Serah had shared with him earlier.

The girl had explained to him how it was that she had become acquainted with the blue-coated boy, and described in full detail how he had protected her from some cowardly attackers whom assaulted her earlier. Serah was always honest with Snow, so she held nothing back. She described everything in vivid detail. Especially the parts that both caused her distress, and made him want to cringe.

Seeing how her recollection of her tale caused her to feel noticeable anxiety, the Hero had left her to herself, urging for her to have a moment to collect herself, so that her thoughts on the incident could fade. He explained that he was going to deal with the situation at hand, but assured her that he would return shortly, and apologized for having to make her relive her traumatic experience.

Now, Snow found that Yuj and Maqui had succeeded in bringing both the unconscious Gadot and the passed out man to their back room. Maqui was kneeling down next to the fiery-haired man, attempting to wake him up. Yuj, meanwhile, had placed the other man on a chair with two arm rests. He had fetched some rope from the garage, and was currently tying his left hand to the left arm rest. The boy had managed to tie both of the man's shins to chair already.

"Oh come on- Can you not tie him _too_ hard, Yuj? _Please?_ " he demanded.

"Sorry, Boss, but I'm _not_ risking it. Even for you," he protested. "This guy knocked out Gadot while he was _drunk._ I'd hate to see how he really is when he's _sober!_ Now don't bother me. I'm trying to figure out how to tie him without removing his arm sling and causing him to wake up."

The older man sighed, as he strode towards his unconscious friend. "Yeah, don't remind me."

Maqui, on his part, was failing to wake up the other man. Truthfully, however, he had only resorted to shaking the man's arms repeatedly, and not much of anything else.

"C'mon, Gadot... Wake up!" The boy then turned towards Snow. "Snow, I can't wake Gadot up!"

"Here, let me," he sighed, kneeling down next to Maqui.

Snow then put Gadot's head on his left thigh, before quickly slapping his face two times. " _HEY!_ _WAKE UP!_ "

The sting of the slaps, as well as Snow's sharp voice, instantly jolted the unconscious man into consciousness.

"H-h- _huh?!_ W-whu... What happened!" he blurted, as he instantly waved his right arm around to vainly slap away whatever had slapped him in the face.

Snow merely grinned as he stood up and crossed his arms. "Oh, nothin'. Just waking your ass up."

"Swear jar," both Maqui and Yuj blurted.

Sitting up, the muscular man had his head rotate in circles, as to crack his neck joints. Then, he tenderly rubbed his right cheek, which was sorer than the rest of his body.

"Ugh, my cheek... Hey, what happened?" he asked.

"You got your ass knocked out by drunk and crazy over there," chided Lebreau, as she walked into the room with hands on her hips.

"Swear jar," Snow, Maqui, and Yuj called out.

Gadot looked at her. He blinked as the words registered in his ears, and then turned towards Yuj. The fashionable boy had finished tying the man into the chair, having decided to only tie his left hand to the arm rest, while tying his slinged arm against his chest along along with his upper body, as it was tied against the top part of the back rest part of the chair.

"So... I haven't been out _long,_ have I?" the fiery haired man observed.

"Just about ten minutes, tops," Maqui confirmed.

"And... Ugh... You guys ended up knocking him out, right?"

"He got hit with the bottle, but it was the tranquilizer that knocked him out."

Gadot rubbed his head in confusion. "So... We're just waiting for the GC to show up and take him, now?"

"That's the thing," the girl interjected with an annoyed tone. "Snow, here, hasn't called them, yet."

This made him go wide-eyed. " _WHAT?!_ "

The man in question quickly put his right index finger close to his mouth, and quickly shushed him. " _Shush!_ Keep it down, will ya?!"

"Seriously, Snow! Why haven't you called them yet? If this guy wakes up, he can cause _more_ problems for us!" Lebreau questioned.

"I have to agree with her, Snow. Especially with the heat he was packing," Yuj, added, as he pulled out the man's pistol from its holster.

The boy handed the gun to his leader. Snow looked it over fully, admiring its engravings as well as its designs. Maqui, who had stood up after Gadot had awoke, looked at the pistol as well.

"Whoa," the blond-haired boy expressed in awe. "That's a pretty different pistol than the ones Sanctum's always toting out.

His leader nodded. "Yeah. No argument there."

"It definitely stems from older designs. We don't even _use_ wooden grips anymore. Not many guns have engravings like it, either. And the dual barrel? That lets _two_ bullets fly in one shot. This thing was _definitely_ meant to be efficient in combat."

"He might be drunk and crazy, but he _sure_ knows how to pick his guns."

"If you boys are done drooling over the gun's look, I'd like to point out that it's also _loaded!_ " Lebreau revealed.

Indeed, the gun was fully loaded with bullets, much to Snow's embarrassment. He had made the mistake of looking down the barrel, while pointing it at his own face.

"And this guy was drunk while he had it! Imagine if he had taken it out on us, and shot the place up with it? Why _haven't_ we called the authorities on him, yet?!"

Snow grimaced at her point, and merely handed the gun to her. He walked right in front of the man, and stood over him. He rubbed his chins as he watched the boy, snoring slightly as his head hung forward from the seat he was tied to. If Serah's story was to be believed, then there was more to this man than what the media had been saying about him.

And Serah would never lie to him. But he still had to hear it from the man himself. If he was going to make a decision on what to do with him, he had to hear the man out first. He owed him that.

"Alright... As I said before, here's what we're gonna do. _We..._ Are gonna _interrogate_ him," he declared.

He could only grimace at the expected response.

" _WHAT?!_ " Lebreau all but shouted.

" I thought you were _joking_ when you said that! Snow are you nuts?!" Yuj remarked.

The man, meanwhile, waved his hands up and down to gesture them to lower their voices. "Shhhh, _keep it down!_ They're gonna hear us out there!"

"Snow, why would you wanna interrogate him? He's _nuts!_ " Gadot argued.

"And Lebreau just mentioned that he came in here armed! And his gun may be cool, but the news mentioned that he _assaulted two officers!_ " Maqui protested.

"Guys, I know you have every reason _not_ to keep this guy around. I _get_ that!" he relented. "...But you didn't listen to what Serah just told me. This guy saved her."

"How do you know? She could've been mistaken," the girl reasoned.

"No. _Not_ Serah," Snow interjected. "You didn't see her! The conviction in her eyes. The firmness of her voice. She was certain it was _this_ guy!"

"But that still doesn't mean it _was_ this guy," Yuj stated.

"I know that. But don't you see? _That's_ why I need to ask him myself. I need to confirm if this guy really _did_ help Serah out the other day. I can only find that out if I ask him to his face!" he reasoned.

"And if you did, then what? What exactly are you going to do when you find out?" Lebreau questioned.

"If he really is the guy... Then I _owe_ him. He protected Serah for me, when _I_ should've been there. If it turns out that he's not, _then_ we'll turn him into the authorities, no questions asked."

This caused the others to pause in apprehension.

"Look, man. I know you trust Serah and all, but this guy's a wanted _criminal._ If the GC finds out we have him like this, they could get the wrong idea," Yuj cautioned.

"They'd accuse us of helping a criminal and, _if_ we're unlucky enough, _kidnapping!_ " Lebreau added. "And frankly, I don't know which one they'll think is _worse!_ "

"No, they _won't._ If anything like that happens, _I'll_ be the one to take the fall for it. Nothing'll happen to any of you if I have anything to say about it. Promise," he assured with a grin.

The others members of NORA looked at each other with uncertainty. Lebreau had her arms crossed and eyes furrowed while looking at Snow. Yuj and Maqui shared nervous glaces between each other. Gadot, while anxious over what was being said, could only rub his sore cheek.

Relenting, Lebreau shook her head while shrugging. "You're the Boss, Snow. No matter what you decide, you know we've got your back. We just wanted to point out that we're playing this _really_ close to the chest."

Seeing that the other's expressions were similar to hers, Snow smiled. "Thanks, you guys. I know this is getting risky, but I _promise_ this will all work out."

Lebreau dismissed him with a wave of her hand. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Now, can you guys come out here and help? We _do_ have customers out here, y'know?"

As the woman went back to the bar, the NORA leader hit his forehead with the palm of his right hand. "Aw _crap!_ I totally _forgot_ about that!" He then turned to the other members of NORA. "Hey, one of you guys stay here and keep an eye on this guy!"

He then hurriedly followed after Lebreau, leaving the three other males alone with their unconscious captive. The youngest members of the trio looked at each other, and then back at the man who had just been awakened from his beating at the hand of the man tied to the chair.

In a moment of silent agreement, both announced at the same time " _Not it!_ "

Then then dashed out of the room quickly, leaving Gadot alone, as he realized what they had just said and what that meant for him.

"What the- Hey! I just woke up from getting knocked out! You can't just..." He ceased his cries, due to the fact that no one was paying them any heed.

"Ah, screw you guys."

* * *

**-Shopping Mall-**

"Damn it... Just _damn it all..._ "

Fang seethed to herself as she walked around in the crowded mall, making sure that she was not bringing any attention to herself whatsoever. At the same time, however, she was trying to think of a quick solution to her current predicament.

She made the decision to split up with Vanille back at Euride Gorge, after they had attacked the fal'Cie, thus enabling for the following repercussions to occur. To ensure that the enemy would not get their hands on Vanille, Fang provided a successful distraction; it was successful in the sense that she successfully managed to beat those soldiers into unconsciousness. Shortly after, she snuck around the compound, and made it to the outside. There, after searching around the area vigorously, she found an air-bike that was unattended. She hijacked it, and made a swift escape back to Bodhum.

It had taken her most of the night, but she had returned to the Seaside City by morning. As she rode above the ocean, she jumped off of the bike, and allowed it to fall into the ocean and sink, so as to hide any trace of her arrival and not to arouse suspicion. She too landed into the waters below, but managed to swim up to surface, and continue swimming towards the island where the Vestige was located. It was no trouble for her at all, even if she _had not_ been a l'Cie.

When she arrived at the Tower, she expected to find Vanille there waiting for her, crying with relief and worry, as well as probably wrapping the Huntress in a tight hug. To her great fear, however, no such welcome happened. Fang found no one there waiting for her. What she _did_ find, however, was Vanille's Binding Rod hidden behind one of the statues.

This clue meant one of two things. One possibility would have been that she had returned but had decided to go someplace else. The other, to Fang's pensive dread, was that the soldiers had managed to capture her somewhere between Euride and the Vestige.

Which led Fang to where she was now. She decided to go looking for Vanille throughout the areas they had visited previously, hoping that their familiarity may had been enough to encourage the girl to revisit them. Unfortunately, she had been looking for her friend most of the morning, and the mid-day was starting to weigh in on her. She was also feeling rather parched, seeing that, despite swimming in a cool ocean, it was still saltwater, and she did not need to be a trained Huntress to know not to drink it.

Finding her way into a deserted area of the mall, she spotted a vending machine on the wall. Judging from the picture on the front, it dispensed soft drinks. Walking to it, she used her stolen card to purchase a drink.

As the cold, sweet liquid flowed down her throat, she tried to dissuade her worries, if slightly. She had promised Vanille that they would find each other. When she made a promise, she made sure to do everything in her power to keep it. That alone was enough for her to keep the hope of finding her friend alive.

_'She's probably sitting on some bench around here tryin' not to cry. Or she might actually be cryin'. Always did cry often, she did. Poor kid.'_

Still, despite her first priority being finding her missing friend, she could not help but feel that she had to keep eyes behind her head. Because, despite all of her current concerns, she felt goosebumps on her back. The kind she felt when she believed she was being _followed_...

"Well, well... How's it goin', honey?"

The soft drink still in her hand, Fang slightly turned her head around to see three men slinking up to her. The thing that really got her attention was that these men were severely bruised, at least facially. One of them, a lean fellow, had a gauze tied around his head, holding a bandage on the right side of it, while also wearing a cast on his left arm. Another one, more fatter than the other two, had a head bandage, with two smaller ones covering his bruised cheeks. The last one, the one in the middle who had spoken, looked worse. The right side of his face was heavily bruised to the point where his left eye was swollen. The one other visual injury was his right hand, which was bandaged up in a cast.

Fang had heard the man's tone when he spoke to her. It was one that certain men back in her hometown took with her. That was usually before she ignored them and walked away. And _that_ was, if Lady Luck was on her side, right before she proceeded to put their egos six feet under for trying their luck even further. But she had better things to do that needed her immediate attention. With drink in hand, she began to walk off towards the opposite direction.

She could not hide the smirk on her face when she felt a tight grip, or what the man probably assumed to be a tight grip, on her right shoulder.

"I payed you a compliment, and you ain't even gonna look me in the eye, _bitch?_ "

Lady Luck was on her side, it seemed.

He pulled her around to face him, and was visibly perturbed when he saw that she was smiling. "The hell are you smillin' at, bi-"

His statement was cut off by a shrill scream, as Fang had caught the man's lower crotch in a tight vice grip; it was tight enough to cause excruciating pain.

"Little brats who have _nothin_ ' _nice_ to say should learn to _keep their mouths shut,_ " she hissed, before jamming the can of liquid into his wide-open mouth and kicking him right in the chest.

The man fell on his back, gagging as he tried to catch his breath, but was unable to due to the can stuck in his mouth. His other cohorts looked stunned at his choking figure, and then back to the woman. They quickly looked angry at the turn of events.

The fat one pointed at her. "Look, bitch! You don't want _none_ of this!"

"Oh? I beg to differ," she corrected, as she pulled out her Bladed Lance, and twirled it.

She intentionally let the blades of her lance stay retracted, so as to not cause any fatal harm to the two. It was not that she did not wish to kill them; she had no qualms with killing them on the spot. It was only because the authorities were looking for her that she opted not to kill them. After all, if they lived they would have the shame of admitting that they had been beaten by a woman, whom they had attempted to assault. And that was more than enough for men such as these to keep their traps shut. Also, she liked a challenge every now and then.

"C'mon, boys!" she gestured, as she took her combat stance, with lance held behind her. " _Show a girl a good time._ "

The fat one came in first. His hands were up to his sides, as if they were going to swing downwards towards her. This left both his already-bruised face and large stomach for attack. Fang capitalized on his inexperience, and jabbed the blunt end of her retracted lance into his gut. The force of the hit was strong enough to force the air out of his lungs, causing him to exhale painfully with his eyes bulging out. Fang then twisted the other end of her lance, which then released a clicking sound. Then, the middle part and opposite end of her Bladed Lance loosened. She then pulled the opposite tip away with her right hand, revealing that both ends of her lance were connected to the middle with a two metal chains on both ends of the middle segment. She then swatted the man with the blunt side of her weapon to the left, then right, before bashing it down against the top of his head, making it knock him out unconscious.

Stepping away from the fat man, Fang twirled her lance in a clockwise direction, before pressing a tiny switch on her lance that pulled both ends of her weapon together again, turning it back into a long lance. She then relaxed back into her combat stance as the next thug rushed her.

He had a stance similar to a boxer, as he began hopping towards her when he got closer. His stance was sloppy, like the other thug, and Fang could easily tell that he would fall just as quickly. The thug sent a right straight punch towards her, which she merely sidestepped to avoid. She then swung the blunt side of her weapon and hit his right ribs. He cringed at the impact, and the stinging pain that followed. He then shot a right swinging hook at her face, that she easily ducked under. She then struck him in the left rib. This time, however, the hit actually made him recoil, as he clutched it instantly with a pained grimace that a let out a sharp cry. Twirling her Bladed Lance, she then smacked her weapon against the side of his cheek continuously, before finally taking him down with a downward strike that sent him face first to the ground. He was now like his fat friend: unconscious.

Leaning against her lance, the fugitive let out a relived sigh and admired her handiwork. A sudden coughing noise then drew her attention. Looking past the two beaten thugs, she saw that their leader had finally taken out the can she had wasted on him, as evident by the liquid drink spilling from the corners of his mouth. His eyes darted to his fallen friends, as he wiped the liquid away. Seeing their state of being, his eyes then furiously narrowed towards the lone woman. He then swiped something from his left pocket which, after he pulled it out with his left uninjured hand, was revealed to be a switch knife.

"You've done it now... You're gonna fucking pay us _big time,_ bitch!" he all but shouted.

She mere shook her head. "Bitch, bitch, bitch. Can't you boys come up with any other original insults than _that?_ "

Letting out an angry cry, he ran towards the woman with what he perceived was terribly fury. To Fang however, it was untrained and amateurish. Seeing this, she did not even bother to at least look serious for this man. Instead, she merely placed her lance over her shoulders and looped both of her arms around it; her face was one of boredom. He reached her, and did a left swipe at her. Like with the second thug, she sidestepped to avoid the blade. He then did a downward swipe, which she hopped backwards to avoid. Finally, he lunged at her with the intent to piece her heart. What she did, however, was too fast for him to counter. Right before she was in his range, she quickly turned her back to him, and ducked slightly. She then raised her arms above her head, while her hands gripped her Bladed Lance. This, in turn, made a wide ring of open space that could be used to her advantage if the trap was sprung wisely. And thanks to his erratic momentum, victory was all but assured. He had indeed lunged right into the gap, over her right shoulder. As soon as the forearm was past her shoulder, she instantly brought down her lance upon his forearm with enough force to bend it forward into a terrible angle.

He let out a terrible cry of pain, that was loud enough to almost catch the attention of those outside of the isolated area, were it not for Fang quickly raising her lance and bringing it down again. The intended target this time was his elbow joint, which managed to realign his broken arm, but managed to greatly hurt him all the same. His broken arm consuming his thoughts, he did not even bother to try to notice that his knife had fallen from his grip. Moving away from him, Fang finally swatted his teary-eyed face with the blunt side of her staff. The force of the hit was enough to make him spin around, and fall forward.

Before he fell to the ground, however, Fang caught the waistband of his shorts. She then proceeded to search his pockets for any spoils of value. She frowned, when she found nothing in his left pocket. The frown deepened when she was met with the same result in the other pocket. Finally, she let him drop to the floor.

"Honestly, you've got _nothin_ '?" she genuinely prodded with a disappointed tone. "And here I was thinkin' I could use your card to replace the drink I wasted on you. But now I find out I gotta use mine, _again?_ "

Sighing frustratedly, she walked over to the vending machine, sheathing her lance behind her back as she did so, and dished out her card again. Making her selection, she patiently waited for the drink, and reached for it when it was dispensed.

As she drank from the can, she spotted something flying overhead. It was a silver owl, the one that she and Vanille had spotted when they first stole their cards from those two men from You-Knee-Verse-City. It's appearance gave her a feeling of unease, but she could not deny that every time they had come across it, Lady Luck had smiled upon them, and good fortune came heir way.

_'If only it had been there back at that Euride place,'_ she thought,

Thinking of that event quickly reminded Fang of what it was that she was supposed to be doing: finding Vanille. This little beat down wasted enough of her time. However, her search had yielded very few leads at the shopping mall, and she had not found her friend there, either. The only thing close to a clue she could think of was one location that people kept mentioning: a cafe. Apparently, it was a cafe that was situated on a beach somewhere. It was not the cafe that triggered something in her, but the mentioning of the beach.

_'Considering her attire, the beach_ would _be the best place for her to blend in,'_ she deduced.

Finally finishing her drink, she then proceeded to begin walking away...

" _DIE YOU FUCKING BIT-_ "

Fang did not even let the thug leader finish. She quickly spun around and slammed her empty aluminum can onto his forehead. The force of the hit was enough to leave circular indent on his forehead, whilst also flattening the can. The woman could only look on in disappointment as she saw him slump to the ground out cold, with his retrieved knife loosening out his unconscious grip.

"'Bitch, bitch, bitch,'" she mocked, as she dropped the flat can in her hand onto his face. "What an unoriginal _chump._ "

With that she _finally_ proceeded to begin walking away...

"Hey... Don't ya know you're not supposed to litter?"

She didn't even bother to turn around at the new male voice. If he was with the thug trio, then she would wait until he made a move on her. If he was smarter than them, then he would know not mess with her and leave her be.

"Hey, _rude girl!_ You could _at least_ pick that up!"

Apparently, he was as smart as his friends, which, in hindsight, meant _not_ smart at all.

Annoyed that her time had been wasted long enough, she unsheathed her Bladed Lance, this time not bothering to keep the blades retracted. She then pointed the tips towards the new man.

"Look, in case you _didn't_ see what I did to your friends, after they tried to get rough with me, I'm _not_ in the mood for-"

As soon as she saw whom it was she was threatening, every cell in her body froze. For on the opposite end of the tip of her lance, was a Cocoon officer.

He had brown shoulder length hair on his head, with blue-colored irises in his eyes, and a stubble beard on his chin. His uniform had blue upper armor-pads that extended to both shoulders, the shoulder blades, and upper-back portion of his neck; there were white symbols on his shoulder pads. There was also white armor-pads over his breasts, and in the middle of his torso was a white cross shape, while the rest of his jumpsuit was grey and black. He wore white armor-padding in his forearms, and had white and grey gloves. On his crotch area was a piece of white armor, that had side plates that where dark green and brown; bullet clips were strapped to the plates. On his thighs where light-blue and grey straps that crossed vertically and horizontally. He wore metallic boots that were highlighted blue, black, and silver.

"Well, I'm pretty sure these guys _aren't_ my friends. As you can plainly see," he assured, while gesturing to himself.

Fang said nothing, and only remained still. Her mind, however, was running laps trying to figure out how to escape from this dilemma. This man could easily report her. She had not used her other abilities to dispatch the men, therefore if he had seen the fight, then he might have not seen anything too incriminating. Then that left her with one option: knock him out and letting him brush her off as a petty criminal. It would still garner their attention, but would not be as much as the pressure would be if he had known she was their enemy.

Her thoughts were ultimately disrupted however, when a large group of footsteps were heard behind her. Facing the noise, she spotted, to her growing dread, a group of armed soldiers that were wearing the same uniform as the man before her, except they wore helmets. The had a metal platting covering the facial area, with the eye top plate colored white, and the mouth plate colored black. Two black eye visors were in the middle on the sides. They had two horn-pieces that extended from the top plate, while white and grey armor lined the sides of the head for protection. Fang gritted her teeth at them, but heard more footsteps on the other side. Another group entered from where she had came from. Like the other group, they had guns in hand as well.

"That's some nice piece of ink ya got there," the first soldier spoke up, gaining her attention again. "The one on your right arm, by your shoulder?"

If the glare she gave him had intimidated him, he did not show it.

"Not many people are aware of what that symbol really means, y'know. After all... The Sanctum's gone to hell and back to make sure it stays out of public eye, at least most of the mainstream media."

Fang could have sworn that her nails were close to breaking skin, with how tightly she was clenching her lance.

The man's expression relaxed slightly, as he scratched the top of his head. "Yeah, I probably should stop BS-ing." His expression turned serious again. "Look. We know who you are. _What_ you are. And _why_ we're 'sposed to be looking for ya."

The trapped fugitive merely glanced all around her. She had been made. Her fighting had made her careless of her surroundings. And now, she could pay the ultimate price for it.

She sighed, though never letting her grip relax once. "I figured this would probably be the way I'd go out... Me, takin' as many of you with me as possible..."

The man blinked in disbelief at her statement. "Whoa, hey wait a second," he cut off. "You didn't let me finish-"

"...Starting with _YOU!_ " she interrupted, before rushing towards him.

Within seconds, she was right in front of the helmet-less man, and swung the right blade of her lance at him. Unfortunately for her, he managed to duck her strike. She then tried to catch him off guard, by lunging her blade straight through his heart. To her surprise, she was the one caught off guard, as he had sidestepped and grabbed the attacking end of her lance. Gritting her teeth, she tried to pull it back, but was met with resistance as he was also pulling on the side he had a grip on.

Before the bout could continue, however, a soldier had snuck up behind her, and hit the back of the woman's head with the butt of his gun. The strike severely disoriented her, making her lose the tug-of-war she had with the soldier, as evident by him pulling the Bladed Lance away from her grip. Then, the same soldier tackled her to the ground. By the time she regained her wits about her, the man had already pinned her to the ground and held a firm grip on both of her arms.

Not willing to let it end so quickly, she struggled to break free from the hold. "Damn it...! You _bastard!_ "

" _Hey!_ " he hissed. "Keep it down! You want any _more_ attention than ya already have?!"

" _Fuck you!_ " she spat, as she tried to struggle to her knees, but was quickly put back down by the man.

"Damn it, will just _listen_ to me for a sec?! I _ain't_ your _enemy!_ "

She scoffed. "Yeah. I'm supposed to believe the man who has me _pinned_ to the damn _ground?!_ "

The man sighed frustratedly, and silently mused to himself. Finally he addressed her again. "Alright. I'm gonna let ya go... _Slowly._ And when I do that, I want you promise that you _won't_ attack me."

Fang, who was all but stuck to the ground, growled in response, and snorted at him.

Seeing this, the man pried further. "But! For precautionary measures, I think it's in your best interest to know that these men, the ones surrounding us right now, are _well trained_ when it comes to firearms. _Firearms_ being the black weapons in their hands, right now. They can _kill you_ quickly, if ya try anything _stupid_... Like shootin' magic at 'em. So for our sake, if not your own... _Don't do anything stupid._ 'Kay?"

Fang continued to glare at him for a few more seconds. Finally, she let out a deep breath and visibly relaxed. "Fine."

The soldier nodded. "Okay... I'm letting ya go, now."

Slowly, he let go of her and stepped away from her. The woman's only sign of revolt was when she hastily drew her arms away from him, but she had otherwise been compliant. The soldier, in turn, had let her stand up on her own.

"Again, sorry we had to that to ya. We had to be prepared, considering you'd probably be all paranoid with the Sanctum on your tail," he explained as he scratched his head.

Fang said nothing, only looking around at the other armed soldiers, whilst rubbing her arms in the areas that the man had held. She realized that, due to their distance, she could not take all of them out, even with her magic and hand-to-hand training. And if she tried to take the man in front of her out, their leader, they would quickly incapacitate her. She was trapped, in every sense of the word.

The leader regained his serious expression, although was a kind tone to it. "I'm digressin' again... Listen. Name's Rygdea. I'm with the Cavalry, alright?"

The woman raised an eyebrow at him as she stared blankly.

He blinked once, before slapping his forehead with his right hand. "Right... You don't know what that is... Look, there's someone I know who wants to speak with you. I've been charged with takin' ya to him."

This alone made Fang tense visibly. "You're not _takin'_ me _anywhere._ "

"Again, I _hate_ to point out how wrong ya are, but we have specific orders to take you to my boss. I already told you, we're _not_ your enemies."

"I _don't_ believe a word you've said."

"Regardless of what ya believe, _missy,_ if it were any other squad that had found you, you'd probably be _dead_ by now. Everyone is on explicit orders to apprehend the 'Euride Terrorists' on sight. You should feel _real_ lucky we ran into ya before they did. We're the only squad in all of Cocoon that _won't_ shoot you right off the bat, after all."

"That supposed to make me feel better?"

"I sure would if I'd heard someone tell me that," he replied. His face softened again with his kind expression. "Look, my boss can help you. He can keep you sheltered, and hide ya from PSICOM. Not to mention help you find your friend."

The fugitive blinked in surprise. "How-"

"Like I said, the Sanctum's gone through hell and back to keep things off of public records... Like the fact that there _are_ 'Euride Terrorists,' and that they might be _l'Cie_."

The female l'Cie subconsciously rubbed the side of her right arm, where her white brand was located.

"Trust me. If there's anyone on Cocoon that's both willing _and_ capable of helpin' ya, it's my boss."

The woman frowned, and thought to herself. After a brief moment, she spoke. "You're not gonna give me a choice, are you."

He shrugged sheepishly. "'Fraid not. But it would make things go _way_ smoother if you cooperated." He extended his hand. "Whaddya say?"

Fang stood still as her gaze fell upon his hand. She thought to herself further as she examined the situation. She was trapped by the enemy. If they had wanted to, they could kill her where she stood. However, here they were offering their "assistance." She was extremely wary of their incentive, let alone for the fact that they were the _enemy_. Yet, _if_ he was telling the truth, then it may work to her advantage.

Sighing, she nodded. "Fine. Take me to him."

This made Rygdea chuckle. "Alright! You heard her, men! Start movin' out!"

The soldiers all nodded, and separated into two groups. One had stayed behind with Rygdea and Fang.

Rygdea then took out a pair of cuff-links, which more than startled Fang. "The hell is this?"

"Sorry, but this more for _our_ protection than _yours_. We need you make sure you won't attack us."

He then proceeded to cuff from behind. Once that was done, he then gestured to a soldier to approach him. Rygdea then took out a wrap of cloth.

"Yeah... We're also gonna have to blindfold ya."

Fang glared at him incredulously. " _Why_?"

"Again, for our protection," he explained. "If something were to happen to ya, and you somehow ended up in PSICOM custody, they'd have no way of getting the location of our base from you, if they made ya talk."

"I _wouldn't._ "

" _I_ wouldn't underestimate PSICOM's methods."

The girl could only growl as a soldier put the blindfold over her eyes. Meanwhile, Rygdea walked slightly away from them, and reached for a small communicator in his pockets. He took it out, and flipped it open.

"This is Flock A to the Nest. Bravo Ace is _in the hole._ Repeat: Bravo Ace is _in the hole._ "

A smooth male voice responded from the other end of the line. _"Any reports on Alpha and Charlie?"_

"Negative. Bravo was alone when we made contact."

_"Affirmative. Recall all of the Flocks back to the Nest. Do it quickly. Our guests will be here soon."_

Rygdea smirked. "PSICOM's already sent their people out, huh?"

_"They didn't just send anyone. They've sent out_ the Elites. _"_

This actually caused the man to stutter. " _WH-WHAT?!_ " He quickly turned back to look at his men, before addressing his superior. "The _Elites?!_ They're sending out those _psychos_ to run things, over here?!"

_"Unfortunately. Which is why I suggest you return to the Nest as soon as possible."_

He nodded, if only to himself. "Alright. We'll bring the Ace in."

_"See that you do. Nest out."_

"Flock A out." he echoed, before closing the communicator.

A soldier then walked over to him. "Sir. What do we do with the civilians she dispatched?"

He scoffed. "You saw what they were tryin' to do. Get some of our contacts here to bring 'em in. Tell them to wait for an hour. That'll give us enough time to get back to base. We'll send them a message later to turn 'em in for _attempted rape_ and _attempted battery._ "

The soldier saluted. " _Affirmative, sir!_ "

He walked over to the l'Cie, who was blindfolded now. "Hey, it's Rygdea. I'm gonna lead you while we move, alright? The base is not that far from here, so _stay calm._ "

Fang only grunted in affirmation, before feeling his hand between her shoulder blades. She said nothing as he led her forward, and somewhat struggled when they made a right turn. But there was seldom she could do about. Her fate was in their hands now.

She only hoped that she would not regret this later.

* * *

**-Guardian Corps Bodhum Security Garrison - Airstrip-**

Amodar walked into the air field, already dreading, if for his own sanity, what was to come.

He had received the message earlier, when he was informed that he was to position units near every airstrip and station that led outside of Bodhum. He was also alerted to the fact that they would be receiving aid from PSICOM, and that one of the Big Three, PSICOM's top three commanding officers below the General of the Armed Forces and the Primarch himself, was to oversee operations here personally.

It just so happened that it was the one in charge of the _Elites._

"I'm gonna need a drink after this," he sighed, as he spotted his new arrival in the distance, crossing over the sea.

The Elites were a unit in the Sanctum Special Black Ops division of PSICOM. It was said only the best of the best were allowed into the unit. The types of missions that they undertook, however, where all very classified, so no one knew as to what the true nature of the missions were about. However, if some rumors he had heard from friends in high places were to be believed, then they were in the business of making things _disappear_. One could only guess as to what they made disappear, or _who_.

Basically, if you were on their sights, it was advisable to _run_.

Approaching him was the Elites' own Havoc-class Skytank, accompanied by two others. The barrel large Main Cannon underneath the hull was pointed in the opposite direction, verifying to him that it was not in use. The circular mini-turrets in the front of the hull were pointed forward, as well as the plasma cannons on top. The directional wings on the front were pointed forward, and the ventral wings on the front did nothing, as per design. On the top back sides were six magitek engines keeping it afloat, three on each side spewing blue energy exhaust. Nobody was on the top part of the tank, which also served as a platform in some situations,

The three tanks slowly landed on the Garrison's landing strip, the engines humming throughout the area. Finally they died down, and before long, the hatch on the side of the middle tank opened. Slowly, four individuals walked out of it and lined up together.

That was another terrifying fact about the Elites: there were only _five known members._

Their attire was extremely uniform as well. They all wore completely black armor. Their shoulder pads were black. with three red stripes. The knee pads were black. Their entire jumpsuits were black. On their thighs were black straps that had red highlights. Their boots and gloves were all black. Indeed, this was more like a tactic to intimidate their enemies.

None of them wore helmets, however, which allowed Amodar to instantly identify them.

There was one who was easily identified as a woman. She had dark black hair that she had shaved on both sides of her head as well was the back, making her hair slump to the side. She had black eyeliner, with venomous green irises, as well as having used lipstick to color her lips with the shade of black.

This was Iona the Invisible. According to the rumors he heard, she was a master of close quarters combat and the occasional master of disguise. Thanks to the Sanctum's influence, she could infiltrate anywhere to get the necessary means to accomplish her mission.

Next to her was her partner, a slightly taller but more muscular man. He shared the same hair color as her, but had pure black irises. He had a mohawk on his head which was cut short as well.

This was Iain the Enforcer, her twin brother. Both Iona and Iain were both proficient hand to hand combatants. If one was unfortunate enough to fight them both at the same time, then they would have one hell of a a bout in store. Of course, Amodar would not know, seeing how he had never met anyone who _lived_ to tell the tale.

On Iain's left was another soldier, who was carrying a sniper rifle over his shoulder. This one wore a black helmet over his face, the standard Warden helmet with the two circular visors, and the breathing apparatus. However, this one had only _one_ visor, the left one, that was colored red.

This was Zent, the Marksman. It was said that he had once participated in the Insurrection Conflict and had lost his right eye in a shoot out with the enemy. After recovering, he refused to retire, and instead focused on perfecting his marksmanship skills. And according to the rumors, his shot was ten times better than the Sanctum's recorded record holder in marksmanship.

Finally, on Iona's right was a larger man, though not large enough to be a hindrance as he was still able bodied despite his age. He was completely bald, but had a goatee that was black in color as well as green irises. He had a very condescending style that showed his dirty teeth.

This was the unit's official leader's second in command, Captain Gaylor Zarck, Iona and Iain's father. He was as ruthless at they came, and according to the rumors, was a master interrogator. He would get people to talk, and knew just the amount of pain he needed to get them to do it.

But seeing them all there made the Lieutenant even more puzzled. According to his sources, there were _five_ members in the group, not including their supervisor. So where was this member, if he was not there?

Just as he finished the thought, another man walked out of the tank. This man was only slightly younger than the Twins. He had medium-length blonde hair that was combed completely backwards, and wore a pair of black sunglasses. He wore a green, long sleeved overcoat, with multiple accents on them, and a small orange tie around the collar. On his hands were two brown gloves. On his left bicep was a orange arm band. He also wore a large brown belt, that held pistol holster on the right side, and saber next to his left hip. He wore black boots on his feet as well as dark pants underneath his coat.

In his PSICOM lieutenant colonel uniform, with arms behind his back, stood the lowest ranked member of the Big Three, and son of the General of the Armed Forces: Lieutenant Colonel Alvert Leunam.

The man walked before his Elites, and stopped right between the Twins before turning to face him.

"Soldiers," he began with a young voice that echoed power and ferocity. "I want to remind all of you that the people we're hunting have _one_ advantage over us: their _abilities_. But _we_ have the home field advantage. _We_ have the better technology and resources. _We_ have the manpower. And _we_ have more information than they do. We know that the targets are no longer together; that they're separated. That said, the targets _have_ proven to be efficient in combat, if the reports from Euride are to be believed. So bring all of the necessary tools that each of you need to accomplish your tasks. As soon you do, _be prepared_. We'll find them, apprehend them as a team, and bring them in."

His eyebrows narrowed. "And above all else. Do _NOT_ let them make the first move..."

They all saluted. " _SIR!_ "

"The crime happened twenty-four hours ago. That means they have a twenty-four hour head start on us. Get your gear, and let's get started." He then pointed at Zarck. "Zarck, you're with me."

Amodar watched as the two men approached. As they walked, Zarck had handed Leunam a file, which he began to examine. Taking a deep breath, the Lieutenant walked over to start what would probably be the longest day of his life to date.

He saluted them as soon as he reached them. "Lieutenant Amodar, commanding officer of the Guardian Corps Bodhum Security Regiment, _sir!_ "

He briefly glanced at the man before him, before closing the file and returning the salute. "Lieutenant Colonel Alvert Leunam, PSICOM Division."

He nodded to him, before joining them on their walk. "Welcome to the Seaside City of Bodhum. I only wish that this visit was under less dire circumstances."

"Rest assured, Lieutenant, you and your men can go back to drinking hard drinks by the beach, as soon as our men are done here," Zarck laughed with his grin ever present. Amodar tried not look visibly annoyed by the remark.

"I assume you're aware as to the nature of our visit, Lieutenant?" Leunam asked as he strode forward.

He shrugged. "I figure that it has something to do with whatever's going on in Euride?"

The colonel nodded. "Correct. While I can't divulge what is happening at this time, I _can_ reveal that a crime took place that ended with damages to both people and property. I intend to bring those responsible to _justice._ I believe there is a lead here in Bodhum, and wish to investigate."

"I see," he affirmed. "Still, do you really need to bring in all of this stuff? Is it really _necessary?_ "

"Lieutenant, as I stated before, I cannot divulge much. But know that the people responsible are _well trained,_ and _well armed._ They are capable of taking on both GC _and_ PSICOM personnel. Taking this into account, High Command has given us _strict_ instructions to deal with this threat as _quickly_ and _swiftly_ as possible, using a _ny means necessary._ "

He could only nod as he heard this. Whenever he heard words like "any means necessary" from PSICOM officials, that was when Amodar usually decided to no longer pry into their business. It had saved him from much grief in the past.

"Well," he sighed. "If there's anything you need from us-"

"As a matter of fact, _I do,_ " Leunam interjected, before shoving the file towards him. "I need you to bring this soldier to me for questioning."

Arching an eyebrow from his gesture, the lieutenant opened the file to see who the individual was. He nearly choked when he saw a picture of a rose-haired woman with blue eyes.

" _Farron?!_ " he cried. "What do you want _her_ for?"

"'Cause she's got a nice smile," Zarck snidely answered.

Amodar held back a snort. "If only _she_ actually believed that."

"As I said earlier, we may have a lead on the suspects responsible, and she has valuable information that could prove useful to me. I wish to ask her about it personally," Leunam explained. He then turned his head towards the older man. " _No questions asked._ "

Feeling the heat of his gaze, Amodar relented. "Alright. Well, if there's anything else me and my men can do-"

"As a matter of fact, _yes._ There _is_ one more thing you can do for me."

Leunam then turned fully towards the lieutenant, taking off his glasses from his face and revealing his striking blue eyes.

"I wish to remind you that this is a matter that _PSICOM_ has full jurisdiction over. That means any resources, personnel, or information that _I_ need for _my_ investigation will only come from _my_ mouth, and _my_ mouth _alone._ High Command expects _any_ and _all_ orders from me to be carried out as ordered, and as intended. So, unless I _specifically_ ask for _you,_ _your men,_ or anyone _else_ under _your_ or the _Guardian Corps'_ jurisdiction..."

Leunam was face to face with the older man, standing slightly taller than the lieutenant with a threatening scowl on his face. "...Stay the _fuck_ out of my way."

With that, he finally strode away from the Lieutenant, with his second-in-command following behind him.

Sighing, the Lieutenant then snorted at the man's direction. " _Jerkass._ "

Amodar looked back towards the ships they arrived in. Curiously he saw some of the SSBO Wardens that the colonel had brought with him carrying some sort of container. It was completely black, and was large enough to be a coffin.

Shaking his head, he proceeded to make his way back to the Garrison. He had to make an order for a certain soldier to come in.

* * *

**-NORA House - Back Room-**

"Why the _hell_ do you have that out?!" Lebreau hissed.

"Hey, I'm not takin' _any_ chances when this guy wakes up!" Gadot defended, as he sat in his chair with his gun in hand.

It was late in the afternoon, and the sun was beginning to set low. The sky was a sharp pink, and the sun's rays were reflecting upon the water's surface. However, this beauty was lost on both members of NORA, who were watching over their captive, criminal fugitive.

"I'm just sayin'. It _pays_ to be protected," he reasoned. "I got a rifle with your name on it right there, too."

"Oh yeah. I'm _totally_ gonna need it when he rips through the ropes that Yuj _tightly_ secured around him," she bluntly chided.

"Like I said. _Not_ takin' _any_ chances."

"Hey guys!"

Both the girl and man turned to see their young, blonde companion. In his hands was a headset that had fallen off of the man's coat after Yuj had dragged him.

"It took me a short while to get this headset working again, after getting the sea water out. But _man_ , this music in it! It's so _weird!_ " Maqui observed.

"What the _hell,_ Maq! Don't touch his stuff!" Lebreau scolded.

"What? He's not gonna need it once we send him to the GC," the flame-haired man muttered.

She crossed her arms as she turned to him. "Did you already forget that that's _Snow's_ call, and _not_ yours?"

"'Course I haven't. Though it doesn't hurt to plan in advance, if it turns out he's not the type of guy Snow thinks he is."

Maqui shrugged. "I dunno. He seems _preeetty_ convinced that this guy's a good guy... Seriously! I've never seen this kind of headset before!"

Lebreau then snatched the headphones from him. " _You!_ Stop taking his things!" She then turned to the muscular man. "And _you!_ Stop talking paranoid!"

He narrowed his eyes at her. "That's funny, coming from the lady who's been _lookin_ ' paranoid all day!"

She gave him an incredulous look. "Well, e _xcuuuse me_ for trying to keep our customers from finding out that _we have a man held against his will_ back here! We're lucky that business is slow, right now!"

"Actually, we don't have anyone out there. Except for, y'know, Snow, Yuj, and Serah, of course," the young boy added.

Lebreau snapped toward him. "Shut up, Maqui!" Said boy instantly closed his mouth.

She dragged her hand down her face. "Ugh... I swear, this whole thing is _stressing_ me the hell out... I'm just about to _reach_ the point where I practically _beg_ the heavens to _let_ this guy wake up!"

" _...Ungh..._ "

As soon as the sound echoed across the room, the three of them froze as still as statues. Slowly, they turned their heads towards the supposedly unconscious criminal. To their growing dread, the man was indeed beginning to stir to consciousness.

"Maqui... Go get Snow... _Now,_ " the girl ordered.

Not even bothering to nod or answer, he quickly ran towards the other room.

Gadot, on his end, held the gun in his hands tightly.

"I told you to lose that thing!" she chided.

"Said it before, I'll say it again! _Not_ takin' _any_ chances!"

No sooner had he finished speaking, Snow entered the room, with his girlfriend, Yuj, and a meek Maqui behind him.

"He's finally waking up?" Snow demanded.

"Looks like it, Boss," replied the flame-haired man.

Snow saw what was in the man's hand, gave him an incredulous loo. "The _fuck_ are you doing with _that,_ man?!"

He shook his head. " _No chances!_ "

Maqui spoke up. "Swear jar."

The leader of NORA looked at the other girl, who merely shook her head in annoyance. Everyone could only hold their breath as their captive was finally coming to. How the next few minutes would go down, they did not know.

Nero's vision was blurry was it slowly came to him. He had a massive headache, as was to be expected with a hangover. His eyebrows creased as he tried to rub his temples. However, he found that he could not, for some reason.

"Ugh... My _head..._ "

Blinking a few times, his vision began to clear. With one more blink, he could finally see his surroundings. Yet, the only the he could see, was the group of strange individuals right before him, staring at him with anxious expressions. He, however, could only stare at them blankly, for his mind had not yet fully gotten to full functionality.

"Huh? What the hell...?"

As soon as he spoke, the entire group looked over at each other, before looking back at him.

"Uh..." he muttered. "What the hell's goin'-"

He tried to move his hands again, but found the same resistance as before. Disturbed by this, Nero then looked down and saw a disturbing sight.

"W-what the _fuck?_ "

His entire upper torso, as well as his slinged arm, had been tied to the backrest of a chair. He also saw that his left arm had been tied to the left arm rest, while his legs were tied to the chair's legs. This in turn, put him in a position where he was immobile and, ultimately, trapped. At least, in most human regards.

Fortunately for him, he was not entirely human.

Slowly, he lifted his face to look directly at the group. Gone was his blank and confused stare. From the ashes came an angry and fierce glare, that visibly unnerved his captors.

Snow, staying silent for most of this, finally drew the courage to speak. "Uh... Hi there."

Nero said nothing, slowly clenching his left hand into a fist.

The leader of NORA spoke again. "Um, I uh... I'm sure you have a bunch of questions that you'd like to have answers to."

The platinum-haired man remained silent.

"And, uh, to be honest, _I_ kinda have some questions I'd liked to ask you, myself," he continued, as he pulled a stool to sit up in front of him.

Before, Nero had only kept his eyes on the group as a whole. But with Snow stepping forward, his eyes became directly focused on him. Snow swore he heard him growl.

"But before we get to _that,_ let's establish some facts here," he addressed. "First of all, we know that you're wanted by the GC for thievery and hitting an officer. Believe me when I say that most of my friends, here, wanted me to turn you in then and there."

The only sound coming from the captive was his inhales and exhales of breath.

"Unfortunately, some of them decided to take matters into their own hands, and decided to use a _sedative_ on you. Needless to say, it sorta worked after a while, but not before you stirred up quite a ruckus."

Nero remembered this. His gaze then went to the three other boys in the room. The two younger boys slightly cringed when his gaze fell on them. When he looked at the other man, he quietly clenched the gun in his hand tighter.

"But despite all of that, someone _vouched_ for you," Snow continued. "Someone I deeply care about. And because of what she told me, _I've_ decided to ask you whether or not what she said is _true,_ to see if you're as good as she says. So... Yeah. Here we are..."

"You have until I count to _three_ to let me go, or else I beat the living _hell_ out of _every_ last one of you."

The Hero blinked in surprise, evidently caught off guard by his statement. "Uh... What?"

"One." A stretching sound was heard from the rope that held him from his legs.

"Whoa, hey, hold on a sec!" he interjected. "Look, man, we're just tryin' to talk here."

"Two!" He then saw that the ropes around his torso begin to stretch.

Lebreau eye's widened at the sight. "Boss! Get away from-"

" _THREE!_ "

Suddenly, Nero's left arm instantly shot upwards, ripping the ropes that held his hand down. With his momentum, he then stretched his left arm out to rip the ropes around his torso. Snow all but fell backwards, as Nero stood up from his chair. The others had shrieked in shock and fear. Lebreau had reached for the rifle Gadot left for her, while said man pointed his gun at the freed man. Nero grunted, as he pulled his right leg free from his bindings, shortly followed by the left one. Shaking what was left of the ropes that held him, Nero stood before NORA as a free man once again.

The flame-haired man quickly stood before him, and pointed his gun at him. " _Don't you move_ , _man!_ "

Nero did not blink as he reached for his pistol. He did blink however, when he found that the gun was not there. Seeing this, he opted to slowly raise his left arm up. Gadot relaxed slightly upon seeing the man's act of surrender. Nero, however, was doing anything but this and capitalized. He then let out a battle cry, as he whipped his right leg upwards to kick the gun out of his right hand and into the air. With no defenses to protect him, Nero hopped forward and sent a left hook to the chin, to send him to the ground. He then caught the man's gun as it fell , swiping it in mid-air, and pointed towards the brunette woman who pointed her rifle at it.

"Put it down, _now!_ " she demanded.

He scowled. "I warned you." His finger hovered over the trigger, inching over to it slowly.

" _THAAAAAT'S IT!_ _ALL OF YOU, KNOCK IT **OOOOOOFFFF!**_ "

The fierce scream was enough to catch both of them off guard, as they both turned to look at who had screamed. They both saw Serah, heavily panting with her face flushed with red. One could only assume it matched her current mood: angry.

" _WHY ARE YOU TWO AIMING AT EACH OTHER?!_ _DO YOU BOTH SERIOUSLY WANT TO **DIE?!**_ "

Both of them blinked sheepishly at her, still taken aback by her sudden burst.

After staring at her for a short while, the blue-coated man realized something. " _Waaait..._ I know you from somewhere."

He could not continue, as the gun was suddenly yanked from his hand. His gaze snapped forward again, but what he saw did send him for another loop. The man in the other trench coat had taken the gun from the boy, but he had also gotten the other girl's gun.

"Snow, what-"

"Lebreau, that's _enough!_ " he snapped sharply.

The woman in question, after a moment of reluctance, heeded him, and nodded simply. Nodding in return, her leader then turned to the two boys, who had all but remained in the corner of the room.

"Yuj, Maqui. Can you take these back to the locker?" he requested.

Hearing his request, Maqui nodded fervently, and rushed to collect the gun to put it away. Yuj strode after him shortly, and collected Lebreau's rifle in his hand. Both teens then made their way out of the room. As the situation seemed to calm down, Lebreau slowly helped Gadot stand up while he rubbed his cheek. Serah made her way to her boyfriend, and when she did, he looped his arm around.

Nero was the only one still on his guard. "Alright, what the _hell's_ goin' on here?!"

Snow sighed. "Look, I was just trying to see if you're as good as Serah says you are. That's _it!_ You didn't need go all crazy powerman, right there!"

"Well, shit, man. What else would you expect me to do when you wake up to see you've been _kidnap_ by a bunch of random people?!" he countered with a narrowed glare.

He opened his mouth to respond, but then quickly shut it as the man's statement sank in. "Yeah. I'll give you that one."

Serah spoke up. "Look, we didn't mean for this to happen... Well... Snow, Lebreau, and I didn't. We're really sorry."

The demon hybrid really wanted to chide her even further. However, he found himself really unwilling to. He only surmised that it was due to the fact that he was still hungover.

"Whatever. Where the hell am I?" he demanded.

"You're at our restaurant: the NORA House. You came in here earlier, remember?" Snow answered.

Nero closed in his eyes in thought. Indeed, the lad had recalled coming here after he had found out that the city was closed off, to his chagrin.

"Yeah, I remember," he responded. "Wait, you said 'earlier.' Does that mean you guys haven't kept me here for long?"

"No," Lebreau answered from behind him, making him turn to her. "You've only been out for a few hours. There's still daylight out. But it'll go down, soon."

"Then I've stayed out for too long already," he concluded, before moving past Snow. "I need to leave... Wait, where the _fuck_ did you people put my gun?"

Snow ran up to him, however. "Wait, hold on! I never got to ask my question!"

" _Fuck_ your question!" Nero shouted. "What?"

"Did you save Serah?"

"I don't know, ask Serah!" He paused, as he searched through the room. "Wait, who the hell's _Serah?_ "

The rose-haired girl meekly rose her hand. "Um, _I'm_ Serah..."

Nero glanced briefly glanced over to her. "Huh." He then went back to searching for the Blue Rose.

The NORA leader rose raised threw his hands in the air exasperatedly, before looking back at the man. "Well?"

"Well, what?"

"Did _you_ save _Serah?_ "

"Ask _her!_ "

" _I_ wanna hear it from _you!_ "

Nero, quickly getting fed up from his inquiries, snapped towards the Hero. "And what then, huh?! What'll hearing it from me do for you?! Sounds to me, you already know what happened!"

Snow stood firm. "I _do!_ But hearing it from you might prove whether or not what Serah's been saying about you is true."

Nero scoffed haughtily. "Really? And what's she been sayin' about me?"

The NORA leader crossed his arms. "That you're a _good person!_ "

This statement caused some of the devil hunter's anger to abate, if slightly. Slowly, he turned to look at the girl.

"You think I'm... A good person?"

The girl looked at her boyfriend briefly, before holding the other man's gaze. "Yeah. I do."

Nero let out a small "Tch" to himself. The tone of it, however, was very amused. He let out a deep sigh, and then looked at her boyfriend.

He nodded. "...Yeah. I did. I saved her."

Snow pried further. "From _what?_ "

He sighed audibly, but then answered. "I saved her from three would-be rapists from trying to get _jiggy_ with her."

Hearing that from his mouth caused both Gadot and Lebreau to stare at the man in disbelief; it was the first they had heard of it.

Snow slowly inhaled and exhaled, before asking the next question. "...Why?"

He crossed his arms, and raised an eyebrow. "'Why?' What do you mean ' _why?!_ ' They were going to _rape her!_ At least they would have, if I hadn't been there! I did it because it was the _right thing to do!_ What would _you_ have done?!"

Snow, who stood a few inches taller than Nero, slightly lifted his head. "...The same thing."

Gadot then spoke up. "Well if that's the case, and you're so good, why'd you go steal and hit those officers?"

Nero exhaled in annoyance, but closed his eyes to reel it in. "Because I needed the stuff for my sling. And I didn't have money at the time."

Lebreau's eyes furrowed. "Wait. You mean you just stole the arm sling?"

"The arm sling and the tape," he explained, while pointing at the fingers of his right hand. "I _know_ that was wrong, but I didn't have a choice!" He paused, and exhaled deeply. "Actually... I _did_ have a choice. I just made the wrong one at the time. If I could take it back, I would. But I _can't._ So there's nothing I can do about it now, whether I like it, or not."

He then opened his eyes. "Now, if you're done askin' questions, can you _please_ give me back my gun, already?"

Snow met the man's gaze, before looking over him further. After a few more seconds, he twisted his lips to the side before speaking.

"One last question... You hungry?"

The sheer randomness of the question made everyone blink. Even Nero could not avoid looking confused.

Despite how taken aback he was, he decided to speak. "Yeah. I'm hungry. But that's because your meathead friend, over there, and the other kid drugged me before I could get it."

Ignoring the sound of Gadot gritting his teeth behind him, Snow gave him a smile. "Well, how'd you like to have that order, right now?"

This made the platinum-haired man to scoff. "Are you _serious_? After _this_ hell of an experience?! _Hell_ no! You can take your meal and _stick it_ straight up your-"

The sound of a rumbling stomach echoed throughout the room.

Nero's face had become deadpanned and annoyed. Snow could not help but smile at his reaction. He then pulled out something in his coat, and held it towards Nero. The boy saw that it was his Blue Rose pistol that he had been searching for.

" _C'mooon,_ " Snow urged. "You can have the best dish in the _houuuse._ "

Nero pursed his lips, internally chiding himself for actually thinking about the offer. He then looked all around him. He saw that the girl, Serah, was looking at him expectantly. He looked over to Gadot and Lebreau, who looked on as well. To the side, he saw that Yuj and Maqui were looking through the door, with similar expectant looks.

Finally, he let out a small growl, and then took the gun back from Snow's hand.

* * *

**-Guardian Corps Bodhum Security Regiment Garrison - First Floor - Hallway-**

Lightning walked down the corridors in a hurry, a destination in mind. She had received the message from her superior officer while out on patrol. And considering the debriefing from earlier, she had a sneaking suspicion that it had something to do with their new visitors.

Earlier, the Lieutenant had alerted every officer stationed in Bodhum that new orders had arrived from High Command. They were to barricade the city and keep the people from leaving, in response to whatever incident that had happened at Euride Gorge. Also, to everyone's surprise, they were to work in conjunction with PSICOM. This was a rare occurrence, considering both the nature of PSICOM's work and the unspoken animosity between both branches. Nevertheless, when High Command ordered it, they would put aside all, if not most, of their differences to fulfill their duty.

Lightning finally found her commanding officer in the hallway, standing before a large window overlooking the sea. The Garrison was at the edge of Bodhum, and therefore it was near a cliff that had a good view of the Cocoon Sea.

She saluted the Lieutenant. "You called for me, sir?"

Arms behind his back, the bigger man turned to her and saluted back. "At ease, Farron. I'm glad you're here. You're to report to Lieutenant Colonel Alvert Leunam of PSICOM for questioning."

This statement brought some alarm to her face. " _Excuse_ _me?!_ "

He groaned. "Really wish I could, Farron. Unfortunately, he outranks us, so his word goes here."

Startled by the news, she pried further upon hearing the other man's name. "You said Lieutenant Colonel Alvert Leunam. Does that mean he's..."

"Yep," Amodar confirmed. "One of the Big Three. And he's directly in charge of the Sanctum Special Black Ops... I think it goes without sayin' that they're not like the ones from your father's day... "

"...That's debatable," Lightning replied with noticeable frown, before shrugging it off. "And you're saying he asked for me _specifically?_ "

He nodded. "Exactly. Why he needs you, however, is something I've got _no_ clue on. Though, I suspect it has something to do with whatever's going on at Euride."

"I see," she responded. "I wouldn't be surprised. I just ran into Captain Rygdea of the Wide-Area Response Brigade, a while back. He was asking me questions about the the happenings here in the city."

"The Cavalry, eh? They're here, too," mused the man, as he wiped his forehead. The Lieutenant quickly looked over his shoulder, and then quietly moved closer to her. "Between you and me, off the record, I'd be careful around those PSICOM guys. You remember what I've always said about these types?"

"'Never get involved in their business,' sir?"

"Yeah. And with this Leunam guy, that quote goes up to _eleven,_ even _without_ the SSBO behind him. So mind yourself when you meet him."

The Sergeant gave him a deadpanned look. "Wait... What if this is nothing serious, and we're just _overreacting?_ "

"I sure _hope_ that's the case," he hoped with a frown. "But I think we both know we're not _that_ lucky."

Sighing, she could only nod in agreement. "I guess so... Alright. Where can I find them?"

"They're at the Multi-Purpose Room here on the First Floor. I think they're still trying to settle in."

Nodding in understanding, she saluted at him. " _Thank you_ , _sir!_ "

He returned to salute. "You're dismissed, Sergeant." He then began to walk the other way.

Then, as she saw him walk off, a thought on a pressing matter returned to her, prompting her to rush after the Lieutenant.

"Sir, wait! I need to talk to you about something!"

Startled by the sudden outburst, Amodar quickly faced her. "Huh? What's the matter, Sergeant?"

She stood before him, saluting again out of courtesy, before voicing her thoughts. "Sir, I wish to speak to you about something I've been thinking about for a few days."

Crossing his arms, he gave the soldier his full undivided attention. " I'm guessin' that, since you actually thought about this, you're not gonna leave me be until I hear you out. Alright, Farron. What's on your mind?"

"Sir. I just wanted to let you know that I will be needing the day off, six days from now."

Hearing the number, his eyes widened in recollection. "Oh _yeaaah!_ That's your birthday, isn't?"

"Affirmative."

"Heh, well in that case, by all means! Take the day off." He paused. "Wait, is this really _all_ you wanted to talk about?"

Well, not _just_ that," she revealed. "I also wanted to let you know that, in the near future, I'm planning to take some time off."

This statement actually took him by surprise, if only because of her usually demeanor and attitude towards the job. " _Really?_ "

"Yes, sir. After certain..." She paused. " _Evaluation..._ I've concluded that I'm actually a bit of a... _Workaholic._ "

"You don't say?"

"Yes. While I am proud of my rank, and the accomplishments I've done, it's cost me time with my sister, and I would like to rectify that. I think going on vacation with her will help."

He nodded in understanding. "Oh ho! So _that's_ why you need the vacation time. I assume you guys are going to go on a trip outside of the city, then?"

The rose-haired girl nodded. "Yes. That's... That _is_ okay with you, right, Lieutenant?"

He waved his hand at her. "Yeah, yeah! It's no trouble to me at all. You _more_ than deserve it... Although..."

She arched an eyebrow. "Yes...?

"Well, Sergeant, I've gotta say I'm a little _surprised_ with this, y'know, considering your record."

"As I've already mentioned," she reminded.

"True. But I can't help but still ask, Farron. What brought this on? Everything okay at home?"

Her lips pursed slightly. She was not too fond of divulging personal matters to other people. It was inconvenient and unnecessary. However, it seemed that the Lieutenant was not going to let her take the time off, if she did not reveal the reason as to why. Besides that, however, the Lieutenant was perhaps the only person, that wasn't already a part of her family, that she could mostly trust. Their mutual respect for each other had earned him that.

"Well, if I'm being honest here... There's one thing my dedication to my work has brought me. Something I _hadn't_ intended to happen."

"Oh?"

"Joining the military? It kept me away from my sister more than I would've liked... I made her feel _alone._ I wanted to protect her; to take care of her. But it _backfired_. I left her alone for such a long time, and I practically missed out on many things that may have mattered to her. In truth... I'm _ashamed_ that I've only ever truly thought about it until now."

Amodar closed his eyes and rubbed his chin. "Hmm..."

"Serah will soon be leaving for Eden, in the near future. I won't be able to look after her when that happens..." Her expression softened slightly. "I just want her to know she has a sister who's always going to be behind her, I suppose..."

Exhaling through his nostrils, Amodar had a wise look in his eyes as he addressed her. "Well, I can't say I'm entirely _surprised_ with your problem; it's to be expected in those kinds of scenarios. I'm not too impressed with your behavior, either."

Lightning's face fell slightly, while feeling a pang of shame in her gut. "I wouldn't expect you to, Lieutenant."

The woman felt a gentle hand on her shoulder, and turned back toward her mentor's gaze.

"Look, Farron. You're a good girl, _and_ a responsible sister. _No one_ can tell you otherwise," he praised. "But if you really meant what you said, about wanting to 'always be behind her,' then I'm sorry to say it, but I'm afraid the only thing _you'd_ be doing is _holding her down._ "

This made the elder Farron blink in confusion and disbelief. "Hold her down?"

"C'mon, Sergeant. Your sister ain't a kid, anymore. Sooner or later she's gonna go off into the world on her own, like everyone does at some point in their lives. And no matter how much people want to, be they parents or siblings, they _can't_ be there with them _all of the time._ The only thing we can do is watch them make something out of themselves on their own, and let them develop into fully realized adults."

Amodar retracted his hand away from her shoulder, and gave her an earnest smile. "And who knows, Farron? Maybe someday, _you'll_ find yourself being overwhelmed with things, that even _you_ can't do all by yourself. And when that day comes, I wouldn't be surprised if your sister was there to help you get through it."

Lightning blinked to herself, as the words from the man slowly sunk in. "Serah?... Help _me?_ "

It was at that brief moment, that Lightning found herself back in that hospital room thirteen years ago. Her mother held her in her arms, and relayed to her the final piece of advice that she would ever receive from her.

" _...Serah will be there for you, too. She'll be able to help you when you're hurting, and give you strength when you need it... Don't try to do everything on your own..._ My cute, little, spoiled girl..."

Seeing the thoughtful look on Lightning's face, Amodar couldn't help but chuckle. "Well, well. Of all of the things I would have guessed I'd do on this crazy day, _preachin' to the_ ' _Commander_ ' sure wasn't one of them!"

Hearing the word "Commander" was enough to taker out of her reverie. "Wh- ' _Commander?_ ' Don't tell me you're gonna start this _again_?"

The Lieutenant gave out a loud, hearty laugh at her statement, clutching his sides as he did so. Lightning, in response, let herself have a small smile at his antics.

Wiping a tear from his eye, Amodar exhaled a content sigh. "Well, you'd better head on over to our 'friends' at PSICOM. No doubt they're already expecting you. Don't worry about your time-off problem. Just let me know when you plan to leave. And remember what I mentioned about our visitors, alright?"

The rose-haired soldier nodded at him, before saluting. " _Understood_ , _sir!_ "

He saluted back. " _Dismissed!_ " He then strode off into the other way.

Lightning herself went in the other direction. As she walked, she went over what the Lieutenant had said about her sister being her own protector. The concept had truly never occurred to her. Ever since the death of their mother, _she_ had been the one to shoulder the duties of adulthood herself. _She_ had gotten jobs at a very young age, earning enough for both her and her sister to survive. _Lightning_ worked hard, and made sure Serah had everything she needed while she received her own education. _She_ was the provider and protector. It was something that _she_ herself had established. Therefore, for the roles to be reversed, and for _Serah_ to become the protector, was something she had almost deemed impossible, if only that it would broken their established status quo.

"Serah... Protecting _me_ one day? I'd have never thought of it," she whispered to herself.

Smiling wistfully, she looked ahead. "Well, Serah... If I ever _do_ lose my way, and need your guidance... I hope you lead me with your heart."

**-Multi-Purpose Room-**

It was a short walk towards her next destination; long enough to lose her smile and find her small frown. Two black and red armored soldiers, lower members of the Sanctum Special Black Ops, were standing guard at the doorway. As she was about to enter, the two officer got cut her off in her hands.

" _No unauthorized personnel beyond this point!_ " snapped the one in the right.

" _Especially_ _GC's!_ " added the other.

She crossed her arms. "The Colonel is expecting me. _You're in my way._ "

No sooner had she finished that sentence, a sharp voice from inside of the room rang out. " _Let her in!_ _I've been expecting her!_ "

Hearing the words from their superior, they quickly stepped to the sides, giving her access to the room.

"Keep your eyes to _yourself,_ " the soldier on the left advised. Lightning had already walked past him and forgotten him.

Briefly looking around, she noticed that they were still setting up most of their equipment. Some soldiers were already on certain monitors, with a holographic keypad and holographic screen. What they were looking at, however, was one thing she did not know of. She pondered if she even _wanted_ to know.

Standing before a table with a holographic map of Bodhum, Lieutenant Colonel Alvert Leunam was looking over a file in his hands. Leaning on the table, facing her with arms crossed and a condescending stare, was Captain Zarck. He leaned to his right towards Leunam, and whispered to him. The man only nodded at him.

She stopped before him, and saluted. "Sergeant Lightning Farron reporting, _sir!_ You wished to see me?"

He continued to look at his file as he addressed her. "At ease, Sergeant. I did _indeed_ ask for you."

She waited for him to continue, slightly wondering what he was looking over. Her blue eyes then met Zarck's green. His had a very arrogant and cruel twinge to them. It slightly unnerved her, but her outer appearance would not betray her thoughts.

Then, Leunam spoke up. "You said your name was Farron?"

"Yes, sir."

"I see... Then that means your father was David Farron?"

The woman flinched briefly, remaining silent for a moment. She then found her voice. "Yes, sir..."

"Hmm," he hummed. "That makes sense. Truthfully, I never met your father. But I understand that he was a good soldier... From what I've heard, you've certainly lived up to his name."

Uncomfortable with this line of questioning, she could only nod. "Thank you, sir..."

"However, I'm rather confused. You introduced yourself as ' _Lightning_.' That's your _code name,_ correct?"

The female soldier nodded in reply, a small "Hm" of affirmation escaping her closed lips so that the Colonel could hear her.

"It's understanding, considering your record of service. And yet, you speak it as if it were your first name. I was under the impression that the name on your birth certificate said-"

"With all due respect, _Colonel,_ " she sharply cut off, earning her a glare from Zarck. "I _know_ my own birth name."

Zarck continued to glare at her, but then looked back at his superior as he turned towards the woman for the first time. He examined her fully, looking her over from where he stood.

"So I see," he observed.

She crossed her arms. "Permission to speak freely, sir?"

Both Leunam and Zarck exchanged a glance. Zarck only shook his head. Leunam did not even bother to acknowledge it.

He then nodded at the woman. "Granted."

"Why am I here? You didn't bring me here to pry about my personal history. Unless you did, in which case, congratulations. You've succeeded in wasting _our_ time with things that _both of us,_ apparently, know already. Now, is there something you need to ask me, or can I return to my duties?"

The Captain of the Elites quickly stood up and made a step forward in indignation. "Why you little-"

An outstretched hand from the Colonel stopped him. The Captain looked back in bewilderment. Lightning also saw the Colonel, and saw that his expression had not changed. The only thing that she noticed had changed was the amused glint in his eyes.

"Just as perceptive as I'd heard," he mused. He then lowered his arm from his side, Zarck relaxing, if slightly, as he did so.

"I have digressed slightly, I'll admit. But my line of questioning is of your name is _extremely_ relevant, so you're wrong in that regard, Ms. Farron."

Her eyebrows furrowed at him. "Excuse me?"

"Your code name, Lightning, is one that you've willingly taken up. When people see you, they think of your name, and realize that you earned it due to your speed and efficiency when it comes to your duty. Correct?"

"...Correct."

He then extended the file in his right hand towards her. "So imagine my _disappointment,_ when I read a report you wrote three days ago, and discovered that you had _failed_ to apprehend a certain thief."

As she held the file in her hands, her eyes went wide at what he said. "What?"

She opened the file, and, indeed, inside was the report she submitted about the shoplifting incident from three days ago. It had full details on her encounter at the Unicorn Mart with the Ruffian. She also saw that here were photographs taken of the thief from security cameras at Bodhum Station. The pictures were in color, showing him with his platinum hair, blue coat, and large sword.

"The reason I called you here, was because I want you to tell me what you know about the individual in question, and elaborate on your report."

The woman arched an eyebrow. "Elaborate? I thought you said you've already read it?"

"I did, but there was something I wasn't sure of. I wanted to know for certain that you didn't omit anything from the report."

She blinked in confusion. "Colonel, I _didn't_ omit anything."

"I'd be inclined to agree with you, Sergeant, if it weren't for a _certain_ _segment_ of your report."

"What segment?"

"In the middle," he elaborated. "During your chase, you described that he had 'jumped onto the fence, and proceeded to kick off of it to jump over it'... Sound familiar?"

Lightning frowned in recognition at the statement. Indeed, that part had been one where she expected skepticism. She wouldn't care about what others said about her, since she knew what she saw.

"I feel that you may have omitted something here. The part where he used his _stolen_ Anti Matter Principle grav-con device to _launch_ himself over the fence, like he did."

"Sir, he _didn't_ use any devices, AMP or otherwise. If he _did_ , _I_ would have _spotted_ it. Besides, we all know that should the event of someone stealing Sanctum military equipment ever occur, _both_ branches of the military would be _notified_ of it. We _weren't_ _notified,_ so this man didn't have one, and _shouldn't_ have been able to do that."

The Colonel nodded. "Indeed. Thank you for that clarification."

She then glanced at him in disbelief, confused with their back-and-forth statements to each other. However, upon a brief reflection, she realized the truth.

"You already _knew_ that he didn't have a grav-con unit."

"Again, your perception is admirable."

"Then why did you go and ask me all of those questions, then?"

"To get your mind working. After all, a _working_ mind is a _useful_ one," he elaborated.

She shook her head. "I don't understand."

Exhaling, the man took a few steps forward, before standing next to her left side. "Ms. Farron, _think._ This man was able to evade you by climbing a fence with not only unorthodox ease, but with movements that humans are not capable of performing _without_ any technological aid. And we _both_ know that he did it _without_ it. If that's the case, the only other way for him to have performed such a feat was if he..."

Lightning let the words sink in. As the possibilities came to her, she found that she could only come up with one sole solution.

"Sir... Are you saying-"

"I'll leave that to your imagination, Sergeant," he interjected, walking back to his previous position, before facing her again. "However, from those thoughts alone, you should very well understand that it's in both _your,_ _and_ _everyone else's,_ best interest to tell us _everything_ you know."

As everything she had learned went through her mind, Lightning actually found herself lost for words. The man before him, while knowing that his position was one that was not trustworthy to someone like her, was telling her that the man she had met the other day could represent something entirely different: the coming of an enemy long thought defeated. She was definitely skeptical, but the other part of her, the one that acted against her better judgement, knew she needed to act. Even if this man had saved her sister, he could possibly be her ultimate destruction. If he was allowed to linger, he could trigger something big.

The thing that came to mind was a certain radical protocol she read about extensively back in her training days.

"Then... You _are_ looking for this man. Does it have to do with whatever's going on in Euride?"

"That's _not_ your concern, Sergeant," Leunam chided. "All you need to know is that we need to find him, and that your information could help us prepare for when we _do._ "

She sighed. "Sir, I wish I could tell you more, but everything I know about him was already in that report. He can jump high, and he's fast enough to get a good distance ahead of me. And since you know my record, you should know that that's _really_ _fast._ Whatever it is that makes him like that, I'd suggest that you and your men gear up for a fight. Because someone who does all that he possibly can to avoid capture is _not_ to be underestimated."

She did nothing as his eyes continued to stare at her. Looking into his eyes, she could not tell what the man was thinking or what he made of her report. Finally he let out a frustrated sigh.

"So nothing new has been ventured... I suppose it can't be helped. If that really _is_ all you can tell us, then there's no point in continuing this conversation." He then looked at the soldier. "Rest assured, Sergeant. Your information _will_ be put to great use."

She nodded. "Thank you, sir. Will that be all?"

"Actually, no. There's one more thing that needs to be said."

Lightning frowned at his words, but then became tense as he slowly approached her.

"It goes without saying that what we've discussed her today is very _sensitive_ information. If this information gets out to public outlets, a panic will _surely_ follow," he elaborated. He then stood inches away from her face, a menacing look in his eyes. "That said, I feel that I should inform you that anything spoken of _in_ this room _stays_ in this room. If I should find out otherwise, and hear that _you,_ or _anyone_ _else,_ spoke of our little discussion here, I will do _everything_ in my power to ensure that you are _stripped_ of your rank, _discharged_ dishonorably, and _tried_ for treason against the Sanctum... Are we understood?"

The rose-haired woman did not flinch as he fully addressed her, unflinching as she uttered her response. "Understood."

Hearing her response, he stepped away from her and nodded. "Very good... And before I forget, Colonel Rosch sends his regards."

The girl blinked in surprise, not expecting to hear from one of her mentors from her training days. "Thank you, sir. Will that be all?"

"That'll be all. You can see yourself out, Sergeant. Dismissed," he finished, with a salute.

She returned it out of courtesy, before making her way out of the room.

Leunam's eyes kept watching her back until she finally exited the room. He then turned his attention back to the holographic map of Bodhum that was on the table. Red dots began to appear on the map, indicating to him that the feed of the cameras placed there were now on the monitors that were already set up in the room.

Zarck stood next to him, arms behind his back. "She's very stoic... But I could see her Pops' fire in her eyes."

"True. But that fire of hers is only a front," the Colonel commented.

"How so?"

"Her 'name.' Or code name, to be exact. That's just a crutch that she uses to hide her insecurities about the duties she _feels_ she has to uphold. She's an orphan, with a younger sister to take care of, no less. A provider in every sense of the word. Her rough exterior is just some disguise that she wears to make herself _think_ she's a capable adult. It's given her results, sure, but it's only a matter of time before that facade is _broken._ "

"Hmph. She _did_ act a little to big for her britches, didn't she?" he remarked. "You think she really told us everything she knows?"

"I don't see why not," he answered. "She would have no reason to lie to me. If she _did_ omit anything, it was probably because it wasn't relevant."

"You really believe her, eh?"

"I do, if only because her facade forces her to uphold her job to the letter. My questions were enough to let her know the severity of the situation at hand. Surprisingly, we have her training to thank for that."

"For all the good it did for us!" he scoffed. "We _still_ don't know anything about the guy we're lookin' for!"

"Patience, Captain," Leunam advised. "We know that he's still in the city, if the feeds and the sky patrols are anything to go by. What we're doing now is putting pressure on him. It'll make him _anxious._ Once we have the barricades taken down, he'll swiftly be on his way to escape the city, leaving him exposed and vulnerable."

His head then toward turned his second-in-command, where a dark smirk graced his lips. "That's when we'll finally _strike._ "

Zarck returned the grin. "And _we'll_ be the ones makin' the first move... Before he even has a _chance_ to do anything about it."

A small chuckle escaped the Colonel's lips before he recomposed his himself. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to report to my fellow peers."

"Ah, _those_ two. Plus that Brigadier General, right?"

"Precisely. I assume that you can ensure that 'Hollow' is handled properly, while I'm gone?"

" _Affirmative, sir!_ " he saluted.

"Good. Dismissed," he saluted, before walking off.

* * *

**-NORA House - Greeting & Dining Room-**

Nero's chin rested on his left hand, while his elbow rested on the table he was seated in. His eyes were on the brunette woman, as she finally delivered his meal to him. His view then turned towards the plate that she had placed right next to the cup of water she had delivered to him earlier. He saw that there was an assortment of veggies that included tomatoes, lettuce, and onions. The main course, however, was a large steak that was adorned with a sort a brown, steak sauce.

Then to, his great surprise, she then put his headphones next to the utensils that she had placed to the side of the plate.

"Here's your meal. And sorry about this thing. Maqui took it when it fell out of your coat," she explained.

Nero, his eyes widening in surprise of the revelation, looked at her. Then, they narrowed toward his right side, on what would be considered the front wall if some had entered through the front of the cafe. There, standing along the wall, were Yuj, Maqui, and Gadot. The blue-haired teen had his hands in his pockets, while The fiery-haired man had his arms crossed. His frown was heavy, as he kept watching the fugitive.

Maqui's head had been resting against the folded arms behind it. Of course, that was until he had heard his name called from Lebreau's incriminating mouth. He flinched from his spot, and then his eyes turned to look back at Nero's narrowed blue ones.

He waved his arms in front of him while frantically shaking his head. "Yeah! B-but I _fixed_ it! It short-circuited, so I had to take some of it apart for a bit! I put all back together and it works! J-just like new!"

Nero arched an eyebrow, which did nothing to reduce the heat of his glare, or reduce the boy's growing anxiety. "That right?"

He then grabbed the headphones with his left hand, and then placed it on his head. The hunter then activated it. He waited patiently for a few seconds, before his favorite Eyeshine song came on. Pressing a button to pause the song, he let the headphones fall to hang around his neck.

"Where'd you say you found this?" he demanded.

"Uh... It fell off of your coat," the young teen provided. "Around your back."

The platinum-haired hybrid thought himself. When he realized the truth, he chided himself for not remembering it sooner.

_'I put it in my bullet pocket inside my coat... The bullets are usually heavy, so I wouldn't be able to tell if something else was added! Just my damn luck...'_

Nero relaxed his gaze, and merely shrugged. "Hmph."

Gadot, however, decided to press him. "Aren't you gonna thank him?"

His fiery glare returned in full force, albeit with a different target. "He's the one that came up with the idea to drug me, right?"

"Yeah. So?"

"Then that means this little fixer-upper he did for my headphones makes us _even._ Even though it really _doesn't,_ I really just want to get you two stooges out of my _sight._ "

The other man clenched his teeth and fists in fury. "You dirty-"

"Gadot, _enough!_ " Snow barked from his seat at another table. He and Serah sat near Nero's.

"But he's freakin' _makin' fun of us_ to our _faces!_ "

"Look," he snapped. "You brought it on yourselves for drugging him in the first place, alright? So just roll with the punches for once! For me, at least? _Please?_ "

The muscular man shook in frustration, before rubbing both of his hands down his face. "...For you, Boss. Not for _him._ For _you._ "

Snow relaxed. "Thank you."

Running her right hand down her face, Lebreau spoke up. "Anyway, here's your food. Enjoy."

Nero then turned his glare to her. "I'm not gonna get poisoned again, am I?"

She gave him an incredulous look. "What do you think?"

"I _think_ I want know whether or not I'm gonna pass out again if I eat this!" he snapped.

The female NORA member held his gaze with a disbelieving one of her own. Relenting, she then took the utensils from the side of the plate, and then used the knife to cut a piece of the steak. When she did, Lebreau then used the fork to put the piece into her mouth. She chewed the meat, ate it with a loud gulping sound, and then looked at the blue coated man again.

"See? I'm _fine!_ It's not gonna kill you." She then dropped the utensils down on the plate, and walked off to the back of the bar.

Nero kept his eyes on her, suspicion not diminishing an inch. When she made it back to the bar, he finally reached for his utensils. It was somewhat difficult for him, since he was wearing an arm sling, but he manged to use a knife to cut the steak into smaller pieces. He then caught a piece of the steak onto his fork, before finally putting it into his mouth. Slowly, he chewed the meat, as all of its tangy flavor from its sauce registered in the taste buds of his tongue.

"Hey, you," he called out, looking directly at the woman behind the counter while there was still food in his mouth.

She shot him a look of someone that was ready for confrontation. " _What?_ "

"You're the one who made this dish? From scratch?"

"Yeah. What of it?" she questioned haughtily.

The man said nothing, as he swallowed the meat. Then, he spoke again. "You're a pretty good cook. The food's delicious."

Everyone actively blinked at his words, which were the first ones that actually held no malice or condescension. It certainly caught them by surprise.

The woman's jaw slacked, before closing, and finding her voice. "Oh... Uh thanks?... You're, uh. You're welcome."

Suddenly, just as his random compliment eased the tension slightly, someone else's outburst brought it back up. " _AHA!_ _I SEE WHAT YOU'RE DOIN' NOW!_ "

There were two types of looks in that room, that were going towards a single person. One half looked on in bafflement and confusion. The other looked on in anxiousness and fury. The former was Serah, Yuj, and Maqui. The latter was Snow and Lebreau; there was more fury on the woman's part.

Nero, however, did not even bother to take his eyes off of his meal, even when he addressed the source of the outburst: Gadot.

"Wanna run that by me, again?"

The man took a step forward, whilst pointing an incriminating finger at the lad. "Don't think that I don't know what you're doin'!"

"Huh. Didn't think a meathead like you _could_ think," he mused dryly. "But you've got my attention. What exactly _do_ you think I'm doin'?

"You're being a huge _dick_ to us, man!" he accused. "But right now, you were acting all nice to Lebreau!"

He shrugged. "Yeah. I gave her a compliment on her cooking. What of it?"

"Duh! You're trying to _ask her out!_ "

Nero's face showed no reaction to his claim, other than a heavy sigh. The woman in question, however...

" _W-WH-WHAT?!_ " she cried.

Briefly having an amused expression at her reaction when she spoke, Nero then went back to his previous annoyed one. "That right?"

" _Yeah!_ " the muscular man accused. "You're acting like a huge dick to all of us. But the moment she starts speaking to ya, you get all nice with her! The only girl in this room who's _pretty,_ _hot,_ and _single!_ That tells me that you're trying to act all nice to go on a _date_ with her! _AM I WRONG?!_ "

The blue-coated man said nothing, slowly resting his chin on the palm of his left hand. The only sound in the room was that of the blushing woman's teeth grinding together as the man finished his accusation.

"Gadot... _You..._ "

Sighing, Nero leaned back in his chair, and addressed the man. "Yes, man. You're _wrong_. And I'll tell you _why._ I won't even mention the part where you put your accusation again in your argument word-for-word. Now, you're saying that because I didn't roast her right now, like I did to you two _numbnuts,_ I have a thing for her. Right?"

No response came from the other side. There was, however, a small clicking noise, as he slowly clenched his shaking fists.

"'Cept you're wrong. The reason I was courteous to her, that's what _I'm_ callin' it, is because she hasn't done wrong be me so far. She took my order, was nice about it, and managed to do it, even _after_ all of the crazy shit that's happened. And you think I'm hitting on her? No, _meathead,_ I'm not interested in going out with her."

He crossed his arms. "And before something stupid flies out of your mouth _again,_ no, that _doesn't_ mean I think that she's ugly. I mean, look at her." His nodded to her direction; her blush had lessened but it was still there. "Pretty sure she's what most people consider to be pretty. Therefore, she's _not_ ugly. So no, I _don't_ think she's ugly; I just wouldn't go out with her."

His left index finger then pointed back at Gadot. "But I digress. The reason I'm nice, or "not acting like a dick" to her, is because she's been _nothin'_ but nice to me. If she did otherwise, I didn't see it. You, I _did_ see! You two, _Dumb_ and _Dumber,_ have, in the span of _one_ day, managed to _drug_ _me,_ hold me _captive_ against my will, _and_ _pointed a gun at my face!_ And you're bitching about how I'm acting like a huge dick to you two, when it's completely _deserved?!_ _Grow the fuck up!_ "

When he said "dumb and dumber," he had pointed at them in the order of Maqui and Gadot. Maqui's cheeks puffed indignantly, being "dumb" for coming up with the idea. As for "dumber..."

"RRRRRRRGGGGHHH... _BooooOOOOOOSSSSS?!_ " Gadot' practically roared, face furiously red when Nero had finished his argument.

The NORA leader shook his head. "Gadot, remember what I _said!_ Besides, you _kinda_ deserved that one."

Heavily breathing, the man seethed as he reluctantly relented. "Yeah, Boss... For _you..._ Nnngh... Not for _him..._ "

Maqui, against his better judgement, leaned closer to Gadot, and rubbed salt into the wound. "Two more gil in the Swear jar, by the way."

He immediately regretted it, when he received a glare as fiery as the hair on the other man's head.

Sighing, Nero went back to his meal, trying to ignore everyone else in the room. He was noticeably eating faster. Nero was extremely annoyed, after dealing with these people and their antics. It was exhausting for Nero to argue with the other man, mentally at least. He had more pressing things to worry about. The more he stayed there, the more the headache was still feeling from his hangover throbbed.

The devil hybrid then tensed, when he saw that Snow was sitting down in the seat in front of him; he had not seen him get up.

"Sooo... Enjoyin' the food?"

"I already answered that, remember? Plus, _you_ own the place. You should know how your food tastes."

He raised his hands defensively. "Right! Dumb question. Sorry, man. Just trying to have some friendly conversation."

"That kind of talk only happens between friends," Nero muttered after swallowing a piece of meat. "And last I checked, I'm _not_ your friend."

Snow shrugged. "You're right about that. Still, you _did_ save my girlfriend. I at least owe you _some_ common courtesy, right?"

The devil hunter took a brief glance at the man, who leaned back on the chair with a small, easygoing smile. He then shrugged as he looked back at his meal.

"I guess so."

Resting his elbows on the table, and his chin on the knuckles of his clasp hands, the Hero continued his query. "So, where're ya from?"

"Nowhere."

Snow smirked. "I'd be inclined to believe you, if I wasn't entirely convinced that 'Nowhere' doesn't exist."

The man chuckled, but pursed his lips shortly afterwards when he saw that Nero was not laughing with him.

He cleared his throat. "So, uh... Never quite caught your name back there."

"Nobody," he answered. "I'm Nobody."

"Nobody N. Particular, right?" he laughed. "Get it? 'Cuz the 'N' is supposed to mean 'in?' As in ' _nobody in particular?_ ' Hehe..."

He slowly frowned when he spotted the other man's unamused face.

This made him slump in his chair slightly. "Y'know, you're really makin' it hard to talk to you."

"Then maybe you should _stop_ trying to talk to me," he countered, as he finished his steak, and went for the vegetables next.

"C'mon, man. Throw me a _bone,_ here! I just wanna have a man-to-man talk with the guy who saved my girlfriend, that's all."

Growling, Nero finally slammed his fist down on the table; he restrained the force of the hit enough as to not break it. "Do you guys _always_ freakin' annoy the _shit_ out of customers like this?!"

The Hero nearly jumped out of his seat when the blue-coated man slammed his fist. He waited a few seconds before relaxing.

"Hey, man. It's the owner's job to make the customer feel _welcome._ And since you had a rough start here, I just want to make you feel comfortable. The only way I know how to do that is through talking with the customer themselves."

"So you can't be courteous in other ways? Like _keepin' your mouth shut?_ "

Snow shook his head, and then tapped the temple on the side with his right knuckle. "Sorry, but I'm not usually keen on letting things like this go. I'm also known to be a little hard-headed when it comes to these things. It ain't the way Team NORA's made."

Nero arched an eyebrow. "Nora? What kind of team name is Nora?"

Snow shook his finger at him. "It's our name. And don't let the pronunciation fool ya. NORA's capitalized. That's 'cuz it's an acronym."

"NORA's and acronym, huh? For what?"

Hearing the man's question, the brawler smirked cockily, before dramatically pounding his right fist against the palm of his left hand. " _No Obligations, Rules, or Authority_! _The army's no match for NORA!_ "

The fugitive chewed the tomatoes in his mouth slowly, not taking his eyes off of the man as he spoke. "'No Obligations'... 'Rules'... 'Or Authority'... _That's_ what NORA stands for?"

Snow flashed him a grin, and raised his thumb at him. "Letter-for-letter!"

The other man swallowed, before responding truthfully. "That's the stupidest fucking name I've ever heard."

Strangely, Nero could swore the air had stopped for a brief moment. When it started moving again, a collective shout from five voices went his way.

" _WHAAAAATTT?!_ "

Nero then put a piece of lettuce into his mouth. "You heard me. The name _sucks._ "

This time, Snow was the one who slammed his fist on the table. "Hey, man! I'll have you know that NORA's the _perfect_ name for us! We're a bunch of people trying to live _good_ , _independent_ lives. Ain't nothin' 'stupid' about that!"

"Whatever, man. NORA... I never would pegged that 'No Obligations, Rules, or Authority' was what it meant."

"Oh, and I supposed _you_ could've come up with something better?"

"Nope. But if I had been allowed to make a guess... I would've said 'No One Really Asks."

Snow's eyebrows furrowed. "'No One Really Asks?'"

"Yeah. As in 'No One Really Asks about our stupid ass name,'" he explained.

Gadot planted his foot on the ground, emitting a loud thud. " _THAT'S IT!_ _I'M GONNA-_ "

The leader slammed his fists down on the table. " _GADOT!_ I swear, man, I'm _THIS CLOSE_ to tellin' you to go _walk it off!_ "

Growling whilst gripping the hair on the back of his head, the fiery-haired man struggled to nod. "Sure... Boss... For _you..._ _Not him..._ "

Sighing frustratedly, Snow placed his hands on his face in exhaustion. "Seriously. You're _really_ not makin' it easy for us to talk to you."

Frowning, Nero remained silent as he mused to himself. After dealing with these individuals he came to one conclusion: they simple would not let up. The longer he remained there, the more they wanted to chat his ear off. Or at lest the man in the bandanna, Snow. Everyone else kept their distance, with more than enough reason to do so. This man, however, was adamant. He proved it earlier, when he had questioned him over the events that had happened when Serah and him had met. Now, he was trying to act all chummy with him, exchange jokes, and act as if they were best friends. The last part was what bothered him the most. He found that people who acted like a best friend towards strangers were the most annoying people ever, in the sense that they felt that the people they interact with owed them something; for Snow it was courtesy. And Nero was absolutely certain, without a shadow of a doubt, that he did not owe a _single thing_ to the NORA leader.

Still, he had no information on what happened since had been captured, and he needed to know if things outside had changed. More specifically, if the status of the city's barricade had changed.

With that in mind, Nero swallowed the last piece of veggies on his plate, slumped back in his chair, and decided to play along. "Alright, wise ass. Since you won't stop bothering me until I talk to ya, I'll humor you. So let me ask you a question, since you've been rather curious all day."

Hearing what the fugitive was saying, Snow snapped up in surprise. "Huh? _Really?!_ " He then recomposed himself. "Uh, I mean- _yeah!_ Yeah, sure! Go ahead."

Nero crossed his left arm with his sling. "You mentioned earlier that I was held here for hours, right?"

"Yep."

"That said, has anything changed with the whole barricade on the city situation?"

The beige-coated man blinked at his statement, before scratching the back of his head. "Oh right... Lebreau mentioned to me that you'd told her that you we're being kept here in the city like everyone else... Wait, does that mean you're _not_ from Bodhum, then?"

"I thought that was already established by your friend?"

" _Yeah!_ " he cheered. " _Finally._ Something about you got revealed!" Snow stopped his cheering when he heard an audible growl from Nero. "Right, your question! Um... Actually, I have no clue. I've been busy with taking care of the customers and waiting for you to wake up."

Yuj spoke up for the first time since being called out. "I can answer that one for you. They still haven't announced that the barricade has been taken down. The news reported that it's expected to be around for a few more days."

Lebreau sighed from her spot behind the bar, having relaxed from Gadot's earlier remarks. "I hope they take it down before the Fireworks Festival. If they don't, it'll be bad for business."

Nero had his eyes closed as he listened to the teen's explanation. "Why exactly did they put them up in the first place? It wasn't because of _me,_ was it?"

Snow shook his head. "Nah, it wasn't you, man. It's because of an explosion that happened over at Euride."

Nero arched an eyebrow. "An explosion? Euride?"

"Yeah. The media's bein' tight lipped about. Whatever it was, it must've been a big enough deal for them, if they decided to close off all of the cities near Euride to investigate it," the brawler speculated.

The devil hunter's eyes narrowed. "Well, if they're so worried about what happened over there, why're they still sendin' notices after _me?_ "

"According to the news, you assaulted two officers during your theft," Maqui divulged, finding the courage to speak again after Nero's put-downs. "They most likely want to save face for what happened. They probably think that the whole barricade situation will make it easier for them to find you."

Nero slowly digested the information that he had just heard. If the boy's claim was true, then the police department of the city was looking for him. And with the barricade, there was not many places for him to hide. And since a lot of time had passed since he passed out, it would not have been a surprise if the police had gotten a head start.

Finally coming to a conclusion, Nero swiftly took the glass of water with his left hand. Gulping down all of the cup's contents, he slammed the empty glass down.

"If what you say is true, then I've wasted enough time here as it is," he concluded, as he stood up from his seat.

The hybrid was putting the chair back in its place, when he saw that Snow had quickly gotten up seconds after he did. From the corner of his eye, he saw that Snow's rose-haired girlfriend had gotten up from her seat as well.

"Whoah, wait! Where're you going?" he blurted.

"What's it look like? I'm blowin' this popsicle stand," he revealed.

Nero began to stride towards the counter, but was cut off by Snow, he held his hand in front of him to stop him.

"Wait, didn't you just say that you _weren't_ from Bodhum? Do you even have someplace to go?"

The man in the blue coat merely pushed past him. "Get out of my way."

Snow never took his eyes off of the back of Nero's head as he interpreted his refusal to answer the question. "Holy... Dude, you _don't_ have a place to go!"

I didn't say that!" he snapped, briefly looking back at the NORA leader, before turning back to NORA"s only female. "I already paid, right?"

Lebreau nodded. "Yep."

"Then we're done here?"

"Sounds about right."

Snow continued to address the boy. "Hey, hold on a minute! Where're you gonna go? People are _looking_ for you out there, man!"

"Goodbye," Nero finished, walking past him and heading out onto the steps of the cafe, more than eager to willingly forget this place ever existed.

To his frustration, Snow bellowed words out to him that were so ludicrous, he could not help but stop after hearing them. A part of him also wondered if his frustration was nothing compared to the others involved in them.

Slowly turning around from his spot at the middle of the steps, he looked at the brawler with a very skeptical look in his eyes. "...What did you just say?"

Snow looked o in surprise, though whether it was from the audacity of what he had just said, or from the fact that he had gotten the fugitive's attention. Despite that, he managed to breath out in relief. Gulping audibly, he then repeated his offer.

"W-we could help... If you need a place to stay, well... _We_ could help you out."

Nero's only reaction to that was to stare at him like he had grown three heads. Team NORA's reaction, however...

"Boss," Gadot whispered, as he kneeled in front of Snow in a begging manner. "I have stood by you through thick and thin... But I'm _beggin_ ' you... _PLEASE_ don't hide this guy from the Sanctum!"

Lebreau had stormed from her spot from behind the bar, only to make her way towards her leader. When she did, she roughly shoved him to face her. " _ARE YOU NUTS?!_ This guy's a _WANTED MAN!_ If we keep him here, we'll only be asking for _TROUBLE!_ "

"And don't forget that the Sanctum's looking for him! With the whole barricade situation, the chances of them finding him here are only _bigger_!" Yuj added. "Earlier today, those grunts stopped me while I was delivering a Special to a customer! I tried to fight them off, but they were rough!"

"Plus, he kinda scares me. And he has nothing nice to say," Maqui confessed.

Snow frowned sheepishly at the gang. "I thought you guys said you'd have my back?"

"We know what we said, Snow," Lebreau answered. "But that was _before_ we found out that this guy was trouble, in _more_ ways than _one!_ "

Snow merely raised his hands. "Guys. I understand how you feel-"

"No, Snow. You _don't,_ " the girl interjected. "If the Sanctum finds us, they'll charge us for _treason!_ This could _ruin_ us!"

" _ALRIGHT!_ Alright!" he conceded, hands in the air. "You guys have perfectly good reasons as to why I shouldn't do this... But please, listen to me. I _have_ to do this, even though it might bite me in the ass. And Maqui, I _know_ I have to put gil in the Swear jar!"

The boy in question had his hand raised, but then dropped it.

"Guys, he saved Serah. I _owe him_ for that. This is between me and him. You guys _don't_ have to get involved."

"Snow, if this involves you, then it certainly involves us! We _live_ together, man! If he's caught on our turf, that could _incriminate_ _us!_ " Gadot protested.

Before he could protest further, a voice cut through to the arguing group. "You should listen to your team."

The Hero blinked in confusion. He looked down towards Nero, who had nothing short of a fed up expression.

"Just forget about me. Go on with whatever it was you people were doing."

"Wha- No, wait hold on a sec, man! I'm willin' to help you out here!"

"I don't need your help!" he blurted.

"Maybe! But I still need to do something for you! I owe you, man!"

He scoffed. "Owe me? Tch. Is _that_ what this is about? If that's the case, then you've already done your job. I got to eat right now, didn't I?!"

"But _I_ didn't do that! Plus, you payed for that! If I want to help you out, it's gotta happen because _I_ did it!" he barked.

Nero had listen to his words, heard the earnestness in them, but felt nothing but fury at them.

"So... That's what this is really about..."

The bandanna-wearing man arched an eyebrow at the man's statement. His eyes then went wide, however, as Nero stormed right up to the man's face. The look in his eyes was filled with cold intent.

"You want to repay me. Why? Because I saved your girlfriend? No... You're wrong. You may or may not realize it, but you're lying to yourself about that."

Snow furrowed his brows in confusion. "Wh-what are you talking about?"

"You don't wanna repay me because you feel like you owe me. You're doing it because you feel _guilty._ "

The statement made Snow flinch backwards. "Wh-wha..."

"You feel bad because you _weren't_ there for her," he elaborated further. "You feel that _you_ should've been the one to be her knight in shining armor. But you _weren't._ You feel guilty because you should've been there to stop those men yourself. But. You. _Weren't._ "

"And now, you see your chance at redemption: helping me out. You think that helping me out will even things out between you and me. That way, you'll feel better about yourself again."

He leaned forward slightly. "Newsflash. I'm _not_ here to make you feel better about yourself again. It's not my job to grant you relief over not being there for your girl. I feel _insulted_ just thinkin' about it!"

Finally, he took a step back. "Now, if you're finally done spoutin' your 'even' bullshit, I need to go avoid the cops elsewhere!"

Turning around, Nero began to go down the steps gain, hoping to finally leave this frustrating cafe behind. However, a voice stopped him again. Only this time, it was from a voice that didn't annoy him, and bore him no ill will.

" _Please think about it!_ "

Letting out a long sigh, he turned around again to look at the source, who had remained silent for most of the conversation.

The rose-haired girl with a side-ponytail looked at him expectantly. "Can you please think about it?... For _me,_ at least?"

He arched an eyebrow. "And why should I consider _your_ feelings in regards to _my_ choices?"

She put her hands on her hips, looking a bit bolder. "Because I _do_ feel like I owe you. After all, _I'm_ the one you saved."

"Then all you need to do is thank me for it. That alone will be enough for me," he groaned.

She frowned. "But that's not the point! The point is that it's _not_ enough for _me!_ Thanking you alone is _not_ at all at the same level as what you did!"

Face palming, Nero groaned in irritation. "What _is_ it with you people?! I told you guys to stop worrying about me! Your friends got the idea! Why haven't _you?!_ "

"Because, unlike them, I know without a doubt that you're a good person! Even after all of your insults and complaints. You can hide it all you want, but you're _not_ fooling me!"

"But _why_ does it fuckin' matter to you?! I did a good thing. Big freakin' whoop! You're guys are acting like I saved the world, or somethin'!"

"Don't exaggerate!" Serah chided, catching Nero off guard for once. "The point is, Snow's trying to offer his help to you, and you're trying to not accept it, acting cold and aloof to rescind it! But don't you see? You're also doing a good thing _right there!_ "

Snow blinked at his girlfriend's statement. "He _is?_ "

NORA held the same confusion. "HE _IS?!_ "

Serah nodded, her previous boldness growing to extreme heights. "Yes! He's trying to brush all of us off for a single reason: he doesn't want us to get caught up in the trouble he's in! He's trying to keep us from risking getting ourselves in trouble with the Sanctum! He's doing a good thing, _even when he doesn't realize it!_ "

She then looked at Nero again. "I'm right, aren't I?"

Nero,who had only been staring in awe, anxiety, and confusion, shook his head to get out of his stupor. "There's _no way_ you could know that!"

"So I'm _right,_ then!"

"No, it- Rrrgh. I mean, I could have been simply doin' it to _cover my tracks!_ "

"Were you?"

"I... _GRAAAAAGH!_ "

He shouted in frustration, face palming again out of the sheer absurdity of the argument, at least in his opinion. Looking up, he saw that some members of NORA, specifically a fiery-haired one, were enjoying the spectacle. No doubt seeing him squirm under Serah's interrogation, if it could be called that, was a welcome sight for them after all of the things he had said to them.

Sighing, he spoke again with a tone of exhaustion. "Look. Even if everything you said was _true,_ that _still_ doesn't explain the whole 'even' business, or why you should even have to go through with it!"

"It does. You, being the good person that you are, are in need of assistance. I _have_ to help you, because I, too, am a good person. Good people should help each other."

At this point, Nero was so lost in the arguments, all of the back and forth and "good persons" that repeated in his head over and over again. Finally, Nero clutched the locks of his hair, and let out a furious cry that echoed out into the empty beach. Finally, he looked back at the young woman, who had not reacted at all at his outburst.

" _WHY?! WHY WOULD YOU EVEN_ WANT _TO HELP ME?!_ **_YOU DON'T EVEN FUCKING KNOW ME!_** "

His loud bellow was strong enough to force him to take deep breaths. He wasn't actually out of breath. He did so because he wanted to calm himself down.

Serah, however, would have none of it. She simple walked closer to him, and stopped three steps away.

"You're right... I _don't_ know you. But you don't know me either. And despite that, you _still_ helped me. Why? You said it yourself. Because it was _the right thing to do._ "

The girl's features softened in what Nero could only describe as a mix of kindness and wisdom.

"You helped a girl you didn't even know from getting raped, because you thought it was what you should've done. You didn't think twice, even when you had that sling on your arm. That alone is why I can't simply say 'thank you.' The only way to repay your act of kindness is to do another act exactly the way you did it."

She gave him a small smile. "By doing _the right thing._ And giving you a room and shelter, is what _I_ feel is the right thing."

Nero, who had managed to calm down at the point, only stared at her with awe and, though he would not admit it, respect. The members of Team NORA also looked on at the girl with similar gazes of admiration. Snow, however, was the first one to get out of his stupor, due to his love for the admirable woman in front of him.

"Yeah... You're absolutely right," he agreed, as he walked over to her left side. Gently, he put his arm around, and looked back at Nero. "She says she owes you, and wants to help you by givin' you a place to stay. I'm more than willing to offer up my own help, to help her repay it. Whaddya say?"

Nero looked at the couple back and forth for a brief moment. Neither had shown signs of giving up on their goal of helping him, even Snow whom he had almost discouraged, moments ago.

Fully tired from the day's events, the demon hybrid's shoulders slumped. "You're not gonna stop bothering me about this until I say yes... Right?"

She nodded at him, while flashing a smile. "You bet!"

Sighing, Nero put his left hand on his left hip, looking away from the couple. From where they stood, Snow and Serah could only imagine what the man was thinking.

In an effort to entice him further, Snow removed his arm from Serah's shoulder, and extended it to Nero.

" _C'moooon,_ " he urged. "We'll even throw in a discount for food and _driiiiink._ "

These words made the devil hunter turn back towards the brawler. He then looked at him, then Serah, then down to his hand.

After staring at the man's gloved hand for a whole minute, Nero let out a small growl, and took it.

* * *

**-to be continued in the next mission-**

* * *

Mission 7: A Funny Thing Happened the Other Day

Nero has formed an uneasy alliance with Team NORA. While settling in with the ragtag group, Serah gets a moment alone with the devil hunter. She reveals her dark secret. Truths will be revealed, both in Bodhum and afar. An important decision must be made between Snow and Serah, that could shape their very future, as they know it.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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